Amsterdam, Netherlands – March 15, 2026 – A proposal is gaining traction in the Netherlands to establish a recent national investment institution, backed by a minimum of €10 billion in capital, potentially sourced from the proceeds of a partial sale of the Dutch transmission system operator TenneT.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem and Theo Henrar are advocating for the creation of the Nationale Investeringsinstelling (NII) to address what they describe as insufficient government investment in innovation. The proposed fund would provide risk capital for long-term projects in research, startups, and the scaling of new technologies, according to reports in De Telegraaf.
The initiative aims to bolster the competitiveness of the Dutch economy, reduce reliance on foreign investment, and support innovative ventures that may not yield immediate profits. This comes as TenneT itself is undertaking significant investment, with €10.6 billion allocated to grid expansion projects – both onshore and offshore – in 2024, a 38% increase from the previous year, as detailed on TenneT’s website.
The call for the NII serves as a policy recommendation to secure more structural investment in innovation in the short term. The Dutch state is currently in the process of selling a portion of TenneT’s German operations to investors, a move that could generate substantial funds, as reported by NU.nl. The proponents believe a significant portion of the proceeds from this sale should be earmarked for the new investment fund.
“We need to ensure that we have sufficient capital available for long-term investments in innovation,” Dijsselbloem and Henrar stated. “The NII is a crucial step in strengthening the Dutch economy and securing our future competitiveness.”
