Title: HBE versus ERE: the difference and the 2026 timeline Canonical: https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/hbe-versus-ere-2026/ Language: en Last modified: 2026-10-15 Source: EREVergelijken.eu (the ERE Team), CC BY 4.0 for the data ERE basics # HBE versus ERE: what changed on 1 January 2026? On 1 January 2026, ERE replaced the HBE system: from energy content to CO₂ reduction. A comparison, official timeline and glossary of HBE, ERE and REV. [By the ERE Team](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/about/) · Last checked October 15, 2026 · 8 min read In short - On 1 January 2026 the ERE system replaced HBE: HBE counted the energy content of a delivery, ERE counts CO₂ reduction across the whole chain. - One ERE equals 1 kg of avoided CO₂ compared with a fossil reference value, and EREs fulfil the new fuel transition obligation (BTV). - Since 2026, private individuals can for the first time receive an ERE payment for home charging, exclusively via a registered service provider. - Since January 2026, private individuals need an integrated MID meter; only businesses already booking with an external meter get a transition year until 2027. * * * ## Sources - [Netherlands Emissions Authority (NEa)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/regelgeving/hernieuwbare-energie-voor-vervoer-eres) - Regeling energie vervoer - [NEa - Transition from HBE to ERE: rules and provisions](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2026/03/05/overgang-hbe-naar-ere-regels-en-bepalingen) - [NEa - Main RED III changes](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/regelgeving/hernieuwbare-energie-voor-vervoer-eres/ontwikkelingen/belangrijkste-red3-veranderingen) - [NEa - Registering electricity](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/regelgeving/hernieuwbare-energie-voor-vervoer-eres/inboeken-hernieuwbare-energie-vervoer/inboeken-elektriciteit) - [NEa - Register Energy for Transport opens later than planned (23 July 2026)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2026/07/23/register-energie-voor-vervoer-opent-later-dan-gepland) - [NEa - New Register Energy for Transport opened (17 August 2026)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2026/08/17/nieuw-register-energie-vervoer-geopend) - [NEa - REV functionality planning (release 2 expected mid-October 2026)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/documenten/2026/08/14/planning-functionaliteiten-rev) - [NEa - EREs (each HBE becomes 46 ERE)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/regelgeving/hernieuwbare-energie-voor-vervoer-eres/wat-is-de-brandstoftransitie-vervoer/eres) - [NEa - 2026 HBE reduction contribution set at 47 kg/HBE (30 June 2025)](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/06/30/nea-stelt-de-hbe-reductiebijdrage-voor-2026-vast-op-47-kg-hbe) - [Besluit energie vervoer (in force from 20 June 2026)](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0040922/2026-06-20) - [Regeling energie vervoer (in force from 20 June 2026)](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0041050/2026-06-20) On 1 January 2026, the ERE system replaced the older HBE system as the basis for the Dutch obligation to green transport. The key difference: HBE counted the energy content of renewable energy delivered, while ERE counts the actual CO₂ reduction across the whole chain. This article sets out the differences, the official timeline and the key terms. ## What was HBE? HBE stands for Hernieuwbare Brandstofeenheid (renewable fuel unit). It was the tradeable unit under the so-called annual obligation: fuel suppliers had to bring a growing share of renewable energy into the Dutch transport market each year, and could demonstrate that with HBEs. One HBE equalled a fixed amount of energy content, regardless of how much CO₂ was actually saved across the full production chain. The system was therefore mainly about volume - how much renewable energy was delivered - not about how much emission that concretely prevented. ## What was an HBE worth? The HBE price moved a lot. According to Argus trading quotes, an HBE stood around €18.60 in early 2022 and fell sharply in 2023 and 2024, to €8.70 in May 2024. In September 2023 the ministry even spoke of about €5, a historic low. At the end of 2025 and early 2026 the price was back around €18 to €19. At the switch, 1 HBE became 46 ERE: €18.75 per HBE is about €0.41 per ERE. On 2 November 2026 the median is €0.310 per ERE. Every quote per quarter, with its source, is in the chart [from HBE to ERE on the ERE price page](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/ere-price/#hbe-history). Note: home charging earned nothing under HBE; only companies with (mostly public) chargers could book HBEs. ## What is ERE? ERE stands for Emissiereductie-eenheid (emission-reduction unit). One ERE equals 1 kg of avoided CO₂ emissions in the chain, compared with a set fossil reference value. Rather than simply counting energy volume, the ERE system counts reduced emissions. That means the same amount of renewable energy delivered doesn’t always yield the same number of units - it depends on how “green” the source was at the moment of delivery. Since 2026, ERE fulfils the new Brandstoftransitieverplichting (BTV, fuel transition obligation), the successor to the annual obligation, and - for the first time - [private individuals with home charging](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/wat-is-ere-vergoeding-thuisladen/) can also have EREs registered. ## HBE versus ERE: the key differences | Aspect | HBE (until 2026) | ERE (from 2026) | | --- | --- | --- | | Counts | Energy content of the delivery | CO₂ emission reduction across the whole chain | | Fixed yield per kWh | Yes, fixed per energy unit | No, depends each year on the grid’s renewable share | | Name of the obligation | Annual obligation | Fuel transition obligation (BTV) | | Sectors under obligation | Almost exclusively road transport | Road transport, inland shipping and maritime shipping | | Home charging by individuals | Not possible | Possible since 2026, via a registration service provider | | Register | REV (Register Energie voor Vervoer) | The same REV, renewed for the ERE system | ## The official transition timeline - **1 January 2026** - the fuel transition obligation and the ERE system take effect; HBE stops as the running system for new deliveries. - **Spring 2026** - a transition period in which remaining HBE credits could still be used or sold to settle the obligation for reference year 2025. - **1 May 2026** - annual closing for 2025. According to the NEa, the HBE balance still on an account after that is converted into EREs at a fixed ratio of 1 HBE to 46 EREs. - **17 August 2026** - the renewed REV opens, later than planned. Businesses with an account can book deliveries and transfer EREs, and remaining HBEs show as EREs on their account. Booking electricity via registration service providers, and so for home chargers, follows in release 2 according to the NEa planning, expected mid-October 2026. - **Since 2026** - private individuals can, for the first time, officially receive an ERE payment for home charging, exclusively via a registered service provider. - **1 January 2027** - end of the transition year for businesses that were already booking with an [external MID meter](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/ere-zonder-mid-meter-uitzondering/) before 2026: from then on, only an integrated MID meter inside the charge point counts for them too. For private individuals this requirement has applied since January 2026, with no transition year. ## What happened to saved-up HBE credits? A common question from anyone who already took part before 2026: were saved HBEs lost? Not automatically, but not without action either. According to the NEa, credits still open on the transition date were converted once into an ERE opening balance, at the fixed ratio of 1 to 46. HBE credits that had already been used or sold to fulfil the 2025 obligation fell outside this conversion - those had already been cashed in under the old system. For most private individuals this is mainly background information: they weren’t yet taking part under HBE and so start with a clean slate under the ERE system. ## How to convert an old HBE into ERE The page [ERE’s](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/regelgeving/hernieuwbare-energie-voor-vervoer-eres/wat-is-de-brandstoftransitie-vervoer/eres), read on 15 October 2026, says: “Elke HBE wordt omgezet in 46 ERE” (each HBE is converted into 46 ERE). That happens after the last year close under HBE rules on 1 May 2026, for savings still on the account afterwards, and only for companies moving to the renewed REV. The type stays the same. HBE-G becomes ERE-G, HBE-B becomes ERE-B, HBE-C becomes ERE-C and HBE-O becomes ERE-O. No units are converted into ERE-R or ERE-E. The news of 5 March 2026, [Overgang HBE naar ERE](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2026/03/05/overgang-hbe-naar-ere-regels-en-bepalingen), writes the conversion rule as “1 HBE > 46 ERE”. HBEs are used until 1 May 2026 for the 2025 annual obligation. Savings balances still on the account after that year close are converted. At the actual crediting the NEa rounds up, that item says. From 2026, new deliveries create EREs. A different figure is the reduction contribution. The news of 30 June 2025, [47 kg/HBE](https://www.emissieautoriteit.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/06/30/nea-stelt-de-hbe-reductiebijdrage-voor-2026-vast-op-47-kg-hbe), sets the HBE reduction contribution for 2026 at 47 kg per HBE, the same as 2025. From 1 January 2026 that contribution lapses and no longer has a meaning for compliance. The same item says separately that the NEa multiplies the balances account holders carry forward on 1 May 2026 by 46 to set the opening balance in EREs. The ministry had said that the value published in 2025, minus the better-fossil contribution, would be the conversion factor. 183 grams of CO₂ equivalent per megajoule is the fossil reference in the electricity formula: kWh delivered × renewable share × 183 g/MJ × 3.6 / 1,000. One ERE remains 1 kg of CO₂ equivalent against the fossil reference. The NEa splits the converted units across sectors on the basis of all 2025 bookings, for the market as a whole and not per company. Deliveries to aviation count as the land sector for this split. ERE-C goes only to the land sector. The split the NEa published on 5 March 2026: | Type | Land | Inland shipping | Sea shipping | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | C | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | | B | 99.1% | 0.9% | 0.0% | | O | 98.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | | G | 87.8% | 2.3% | 9.9% | On 15 October 2026 the number 46 did not appear in the [Besluit energie vervoer](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0040922/2026-06-20) and the [Regeling energie vervoer](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0041050/2026-06-20) that were in force then. 46 is the rule the NEa publishes. Home charging earned nothing under HBE. Private individuals therefore had no HBE savings balance converted on 1 May 2026. ## Why the change? RED III as the driver The switch from HBE to ERE isn’t a Dutch initiative in isolation - it’s the national implementation of the revised EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). That directive asks member states to steer on actual chain-wide CO₂ reduction rather than volume alone, and extends the obligation to sectors that had largely stayed out of scope before, such as inland and maritime shipping. For the Netherlands that meant a fundamentally different calculation method (see also our article on [calculating EREs per kWh](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/ere-berekenen-per-kwh/)) and a broader group of obligated parties. ## Glossary: HBE, ERE and REV | Term | Meaning | | --- | --- | | HBE | Hernieuwbare Brandstofeenheid (renewable fuel unit); the unit used before 2026, based on energy content. Replaced on 1 January 2026. | | ERE | Emissiereductie-eenheid (emission-reduction unit); the current unit, based on CO₂ reduction. 1 ERE = 1 kg of avoided CO₂ compared with the fossil reference value. | | REV | Register Energie voor Vervoer (Register Energy for Transport); the [NEa register](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/nea-rev-inboekdienstverlener-rollen/) in which deliveries are recorded and EREs (formerly HBEs) are tracked and traded. | | BTV | Brandstoftransitieverplichting (fuel transition obligation); the obligation, since 2026, for fuel suppliers to lower the CO₂ emissions of their fuels, fulfilled using EREs. | | NEa | Netherlands Emissions Authority; the regulator that runs and oversees the system and the REV. | ## What does this mean for you as a home charger? For a private individual who couldn’t take part before 2026, the history of HBE is mostly background. What matters is that access to a payment for home charging now exists, and that it runs through a registration service provider - as a private individual you cannot register directly with the NEa. Also mind the meter: as a private individual you have needed a MID meter integrated in the charge point since January 2026, with no transition year - an external metering setup does not count for you. If you’re not sure your charge point has one, check before you sign up. Then compare the providers that suit your situation, since commission, payout frequency and [contract terms](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/ere-contract-voorwaarden/) vary between registration service providers. ## Read next Go deeper with these related guides from the knowledge base. - [What changes on 1 January 2027 for EV drivers](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/what-changes-in-2027/) [ ERE basics ### Which types of ERE exist, and which one applies to EV charging? Read article →](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/soorten-ere/)[ ERE basics ### NEa, REV and registration service provider: who does what? Read article →](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/nea-rev-inboekdienstverlener-rollen/)[ Explainer ### What is ERE and how does the home-charging payment work? Read article →](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/knowledge-base/wat-is-ere-vergoeding-thuisladen/) ## Ready to compare providers? Compare earnings, terms and service across every relevant ERE provider. [View the comparison →](https://erevergelijken.eu/en/compare/) EREVergelijken.eu is independent: no provider pays for placement. The ranking follows a public methodology and includes all relevant providers.