Dutch salt producer Nobian has become the first major company to reach an agreement with the government on reducing its carbon dioxide emissions and will shift from gas to electricity 15 years earlier than planned.

The cabinet is trying to attract 20 firms to make deals on their emissions in return for subsidies which, ministers say, will help the Netherlands reach its 2030 climate targets.

Tata Steel IJmuiden, Shell’s refineries in Pernis en Moerdijk and artificial fertilizer group Yara Zeeland are also among the target companies.

Nobian extracts salt from mines in Twente and Groningen which is used in the chemicals industry when purified. Its factories in Delfzijl and Hengelo are now largely run on gas.

The government is pumping €185 million in subsidies into the company to speed up the transition to cleaner electricity.

Yara is also currently in talks with the government.

In October the government’s environmental assessment agency PBL said the Netherlands is extremely unlikely to achieve its climate targets.

The Netherlands aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 55% in 2030 when compared with 1990, but the current plans make a reduction of 44% to 52% the maximum achievable, the PBL said. No sectors are currently on target.

Figures from the Dutch emissions authority NEa show that while overall carbon dioxide emissions are down 13% over two years, the very biggest polluters are producing more of the greenhouse gas for every tonne of product than a year ago.

In total, 356 companies are classed as major polluters and fall under the European emissions trading system ETS. Together, they are responsible for around half the carbon dioxide production in the Netherlands.