Prinsjesdag 2026: Dutch government proposes new funding for innovation and business growth
The budget presented Prinsjesdag 15th of September 2026, includes plans for new funding for clean energy, AI and research. For businesses in the Amsterdam Area, as well as international companies considering the region, the measures could affect everything from access to growth capital and first customers to the infrastructure needed to expand.
Financing the next stage of innovation
Access to finance is one of the challenges the government wants to address. The proposed National Investment Institution (NII) will receive €3.3 billion to support innovative companies and growth businesses, while attracting further private investment.
Alongside it, the new National Agency for Disruptive Innovation (NADI) will have a €500 million budget to support technological breakthroughs that can be too uncertain or long-term for the market to finance alone. Based on an international ARPA-style model, NADI will organise programmes around specific challenges and help accelerate promising technologies into practical applications, including by enabling government to act as a first customer.
For businesses developing new technologies, securing a first customer can be as important as securing capital. Early deployment can help demonstrate a technology, establish a commercial track record and support further growth.
The government is also proposing €375 million for a new National Growth Fund round and €120 million for Dutch participation in a European Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) focused on AI.
Other measures target the conditions in which innovative businesses grow. The government proposes expanding the simplified Innovation Box arrangement for qualifying SMEs, while a proposed new employee share-option regime is intended to make equity-based remuneration more attractive for startups and scale-ups competing for talent.
Access to these measures will depend on programme conditions and implementation.
Energy infrastructure supports business expansion
The budget allocates €6 billion in 2027 to energy security and decarbonisation subsidies for businesses and households. This includes €1.6 billion through the SDE scheme for renewable energy and CO₂-reduction projects, alongside support for energy-intensive industry and businesses investing in climate measures.
Longer-term investments include offshore energy infrastructure, hydrogen storage and carbon capture. The government also identifies grid congestion as a barrier that needs to be addressed as electricity demand increases.
For businesses planning new facilities, expanding operations or electrifying existing processes, energy availability has therefore become an increasingly important part of location and investment decisions.
That challenge is particularly relevant in Amsterdam. Liander, TenneT and the City of Amsterdam are undertaking a major expansion of the city’s electricity grid, including new and upgraded substations. In September 2026, construction began on the Nieuwe Hemweg electricity station, which Liander describes as the largest expansion of Amsterdam’s electricity grid to date.
More investment in research and knowledge
The government is also putting more emphasis on turning research into companies and commercial applications, alongside the wider €428 million structural increase in research funding.
For Amsterdam’s knowledge-intensive sectors, stronger links between research institutions and entrepreneurship could support new spinouts, partnerships and technologies moving from the lab into the market. Additional funding is also being directed towards strategic fields including climate technology and AI.
For companies operating in AI, life sciences and sustainable technologies, that could create further opportunities to work with Dutch knowledge institutions and access specialist expertise.
What does the 2027 budget mean for businesses in Amsterdam?
The measures announced on Prinsjesdag will not remove every barrier to business growth. Access to finance, grid capacity, talent and physical space remain practical considerations for companies looking to establish or expand operations.
But the 2027 proposals put additional public investment behind several of those conditions, from financing innovative businesses and commercialising technology to expanding energy infrastructure and strengthening research.
Amsterdam Trade & Invest supports Amsterdam-based businesses looking to grow internationally, as well as international companies exploring opportunities to establish or expand in the Amsterdam Area, connecting them with relevant markets, partners and networks.
The 2027 budget proposals are subject to parliamentary approval. Programme eligibility, application windows and implementation dates may vary. Information correct as of 16 September 2026.