The Netherlands at a crossroads: Energy from water as a strategic accelerator of the global energy transition

This roundtable was supported under Offshore For Sure as part of Activity A4.3 “Policy harmonisation”, building directly on the groundwork laid by the Zeeland Environmental Federation (ZMf) on barriers and enabling conditions for offshore renewables. Bluespring, as driving force behind the organisation, together with Aquius, brought together key innovators and investors from the Offshore For Sure community and beyond, including partners FLASC, Water2Energy, Dutch Wave Power and Tocardo, alongside other frontrunners in salinity gradient power, wave energy and impact finance. Their collective message to national policy makers and regulators was clear: technology is moving fast, but the policy framework is lagging behind.

Offshore For Sure aims to accelerate the energy transition at sea and strengthen the sustainable blue economy by testing five promising offshore energy solutions and improving their integration into the wider energy system. The policy and public engagement work stream is designed to convert lessons from the field into concrete recommendations that can be adopted across borders, and this session is a cornerstone in that effort.

Host Rick Elmendorp (NWP) opened the session by framing energy from water as an underused, yet highly strategic component of the Dutch energy mix. The roundtable explored the full spectrum: tidal and wave energy at sea, salinity gradient power in estuaries and lakes, and offshore energy storage that turns offshore wind into a more controllable, system‑friendly resource. Participants repeatedly underlined how these technologies complement offshore wind and solar by producing when others do not, thereby stabilising the grid and reducing system balancing costs.

The strategic context resonated with the broader Offshore For Sure ambition: leverage Dutch strengths in water management, offshore engineering and maritime industry to create a home market for innovations that can later be exported worldwide. In a world where energy security, resilience and climate goals must all be met simultaneously, domestic, predictable sources of “energy from water” are not a luxury, but a necessity

What set this session apart was the personal lens. Rather than generic presentations, each pioneer shared where their journey currently stalls – and what they need from government to move forward.

Each of these stories echoed a shared conclusion: engineering is not the bottleneck. The innovators are ready, capital is within reach, and system need is growing. The real obstacles lie in fragmented mandates, rigid support schemes and slow, risk‑averse permitting

Through open discussion, a set of structural barriers emerged that cut across all technologies:

• Permitting bottlenecks: Long, uncertain procedures, especially where Rijkswaterstaat and other infrastructure operators have no explicit mandate or incentive to accommodate energy functions.

• The TRL4–7 “valley of death”: Funding instruments like SDE++ target mature technologies at full commercial scale, leaving pilots and first arrays without a stable business case.

• Lack of differentiated pilot regimes: Demonstration projects are treated like full‑scale commercial developments, without a tailored, fast‑track approach for low‑impact, time‑limited pilots.

• Tariff uncertainty: There is no feed‑in or CfD segment that recognises the system value and higher early‑stage costs of tidal, wave and salinity gradient power.

• Institutional siloing: Responsibilities for water, energy, nature, innovation and infrastructure are spread across ministries and agencies that seldom align on joint deployment pathways.

For the people in the room, these are not abstract policy points, but very real hurdles that determine whether years of work move into the water or remain on paper.

The roundtable converged on a concise set of asks to national policy makers and regulators – a practical policy harmonisation agenda that fits squarely within Offshore For Sure Activity A4.3:

1. A national roadmap to 2050
Set realistic capacity targets for tidal, wave and salinity gradient power, linked to clear milestones for test sites, grid connections and permitting reforms. Align this roadmap with export strategy and industrial policy so that Dutch companies can scale from a strong home base.

2. Bridging the financing gap
Design sequential funding pathways that link R&D, demonstration and pre‑commercial deployment without interruptions, blending grants, guarantees and risk insurance. Reserve budgets that cannot simply be re‑absorbed by oversubscribed solar schemes.

3. Support for early offtake
Facilitate behind‑the‑meter models with industry, green hydrogen producers and coastal communities, and support cooperative ownership structures that anchor benefits locally.

4. Differentiated permitting for pilots
Introduce a fast‑track regime for small‑scale pilots (up to say 500kW), with clear ecological protocols and a maximum decision timeline aligned with European net‑zero industry ambitions. Establish a single coordinating desk that can cut through institutional boundaries.

5. Recognising system value in market design
Move beyond levelised cost of energy as the sole metric. Incorporate avoided balancing costs, grid reinforcement savings and resilience benefits in support instruments and market rules. Reward storage integration and system‑friendly operation profiles.

6. Enabling multi‑use infrastructure
Explicitly encourage energy functions in existing water infrastructure – storm surge barriers, pumping stations, estuaries and ports – with dedicated guidelines and model agreements for operators and developers.

7. A dedicated “energy from water” deployment track
Create a segmented CfD or feed‑in tariff window for tidal, wave and salinity gradient projects, with strike prices that reflect early‑stage costs and a clear cost‑reduction path over time. Provide 15–20 year revenue certainty to unlock private finance and industrial investment.

These are not shopping‑list wishes, but carefully distilled needs from people who have invested their careers in bringing new kilowatt‑hours onto the grid

The message to national policy makers and regulators was both urgent and constructive. The Netherlands has the knowledge, the companies, the infrastructure and the international reputation to turn energy from water into a strategic pillar of its energy system. If policy frameworks remain rigid and fragmented, that leadership will drift to countries that offer clearer deployment pathways.

Over the next 12–24 months, the community around Offshore For Sure, EWA and NWP will translate the outcomes of this and future sessions into concise policy briefs, permitting roadmaps and concrete proposals for funding support. Parliamentary briefings, engagement with ministries and cooperation with Rijkswaterstaat and grid operators will be essential steps.

Energy from water is ready to move from the margins to the mainstream. With targeted, harmonised policy support, the Netherlands can choose to lead – not only in developing ideas, but in deploying them at scale, in its own waters and coast.