Partnering with Nationaal Warmtefonds: from niche fund to becoming a key pillar in the national energy transition

Nationaal Warmtefonds was established in 2013 as an experimental fund backed by the Dutch government to help homeowners make their houses more energy efficient. Today, it's a key player in the Netherlands’ climate ambitions, granting over 1.8 billion euro of loans and helping more than 130.000 households make their homes more sustainable.

From cautious beginnings

In the early stages, Nationaal Warmtefonds-backed loans were only offered to homeowners who could afford traditional credit. But in 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed, setting new international climate targets and raising action on energy efficiency to a national priority. This sparked a rapid extension of the fund’s mandate. Notably, the decision was made to expand from financially stable owners to provide access to funding to households with lower incomes. This led to a surge in the scale and impact of the fund.

“Initially the fund grew steadily – in the first year we financed €5 million,” says Ernst Jan Boers, Chairman of Nationaal Warmtefonds. “But within five years, we were doing €150 million a year and it became clear we had to reshape ourselves. The fund was expected to double in size and to support this growth, we needed more than just a loan administrator – we needed the full second and third lines.”

As Nationaal Warmtefonds’ objectives became more ambitious, so did the need for specialist risk management, compliance, and treasury functions. These were services beyond the capabilities of the organization and its existing administrative providers. So, five years ago, the fund set out to find an advisor that could support their growth strategy. This led them to Zanders.  

“In the early stages, it was about managing the funds with boots on the ground,” says Ernst Jan.

Zanders offered treasury knowledge, but they were also willing to do the day-to-day work – and the same applied for compliance and risk. We needed a role that we called ‘fund director’ and Zanders filled that position.

Ernst Jan Boers, Chairman of Nationaal Warmtefonds

Tasked with managing the fund, coordinating with other service providers, and supporting the board, the Zanders team was quickly embedded into day-to-day operations, providing advice and hands-on support across risk, compliance, and treasury. And as the fund rapidly grew to over €400 million a year, Zanders’ role also expanded as it helped the fund navigate growth and the challenges it presented.

Navigating the challenges of fund expansion

A strengthening moment in the partnership came with the near collapse of a large, multi-million-euro eco-renovation of an apartment building, involving more than 180 homeowners. When the construction firm went bankrupt mid-way through the build, the future of the project plunged into uncertainty. Zanders played an important role in enabling the project to proceed – mediating between homeowners, authorities, and internal credit committees, while also designing a financial restructuring plan. With this hands-on, credit management, Zanders helped Nationaal Warmtefonds not only rescue the project (it was ultimately completed to almost zero-emission standards) but also reshape future governance and credit approval processes to reduce risk going forward.

Large, high-stakes projects like this highlighted how fast the fund was evolving and how far its role had expanded beyond its original scope.

“We started with a lifetime from 3 to 6 years for the fund,” Ernst Jan reflects. “But if you look at the scale of the transition and how embedded we’ve become in the national climate effort, we’ll likely be doing this work through to 2050.”

The impact of this growth is that the somewhat short-term nature of Nationaal Warmtefonds’ operational structure was no longer sufficient to manage the growing complexity and scale of its role.

“About a two years ago, things were moving so fast and we realized it was time to become a real organization,” admits Ernst Jan. “Up until that point, we had a board of just four people, each working only one or two days a week. Everything was outsourced – risk, finance, and loan administration. We had good controls, but no one on payroll, and not even a physical office. We were becoming too big for that model and, more importantly, we realized we’re not temporary – we’re actually here to stay.”

At this point Nationaal Warmtefonds decided to insource key service providers, and at the same time, the board transitioned from a part-time structure to working three to four days a week.

“As part of this shift, the role of fund director was no longer needed in the same way,” says Ernst Jan.

Zanders continues to support us – especially in areas like risk, compliance, and treasury – but the nature of the support has changed again. It's now more advisory and less operational, because we’ve built the internal structure to handle much of it ourselves.

Ernst Jan Boers, Chairman of Nationaal Warmtefonds

This marks a new, more consultancy-driven era for our partnership, where Zanders empowers Nationaal Warmtefonds with the expertise, guidance and strategic support to continue to grow the fund and proactively manage risk.

Flexible foundations for the future

From providing hands-on crisis management during complex projects to shifting towards a more advisory role as internal capacity grew, Zanders’ support for Nationaal Warmtefonds has evolved in line with the fund’s growth and changing needs. This flexibility has been crucial in navigating the challenges of rapidly scaling the fund as climate action has climbed the national agenda.

Looking to the future, as the energy transition deepens and new challenges arise, our partnership will keep adapting, continually re-balancing operational support with strategic advice to ensure Nationaal Warmtefonds is positioned to respond effectively and continue to drive forward the energy transition in the Netherlands.

To find out more about how we can support the growth strategy of your business and fund, please contact Eva de Lange.