Custom nitrogen calculation and deposition file software
If you want to start a project that may cause nitrogen to be deposited in a Natura 2000 area, you sometimes need an environmental permit for a Natura 2000 activity. A calculation with AERIUS Calculator, in the most current version, is legally required to support the application. Since 6 October 2026, that is version 2026, and procedures already under way may need a new calculation. Appfront builds the file that brings together, per project or location, the sources, the emissions, every calculation with its version, the reports and the supporting evidence.
What is software for nitrogen calculations and the deposition file?
Software for nitrogen calculations and the deposition file keeps track, per project, of which sources there are, what they emit and what that means, according to AERIUS, for nitrogen deposition on Natura 2000 areas. AERIUS Calculator calculates the deposition contribution of a plan or project, for example a new residential area including construction traffic, or the difference between the existing and the new situation when a farm expands. According to AERIUS, using it is a legal requirement for granting permission, laid down in Articles 4.15 and 6.15 of the Omgevingsregeling (Environment Regulation), and these calculations use a fixed calculation limit of 25 kilometres.
AERIUS is updated every year with new data on emissions and deposition. Version 2026 became available on 6 October 2026, and according to AERIUS only that version may be used when granting permission since then. Within a version, too, AERIUS can report corrections to the data; for that reason the file records, for each calculation, which version and which data were used, so you can quickly see which calculations a correction affects. There are also topics where the law is still evolving. Following rulings by the Council of State on 18 December 2024, AERIUS reports that the information on netting (salderen) may no longer be correct, and a mathematical lower threshold is still being debated politically and legally.
That is exactly why it pays to record, per project, which version, which inputs and which assumptions a calculation used. In practice that information is scattered across export files, PDF reports, emails with the province and spreadsheets of emission factors. We build custom software because every consultancy and every initiator works differently. For larger numbers of sources or your own workflows, AERIUS Connect offers an API to link systems directly to the calculation core. The software does not give a legal opinion; that remains with your adviser and the competent authority.
Per project
Sources and emissions.
Per calculation
Version and assumptions.
One record
Reports and substantiation.
How we build your nitrogen calculation and deposition file software
We start with your projects: what kinds of activities you calculate, how you currently collect sources and emissions, which reports you produce and how you track which version of AERIUS was used. Then we build a first version with the project file and the recording of calculations, because that is where every project starts. Your advisers work with it for a while. Flagging recalculations after an update, the integration with AERIUS Connect and the bundling for the application follow once that is going well. After that, we maintain the software when AERIUS or the rules change.
Sources, reports, versions.
The first version.
Recalculation at a glance.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What nitrogen calculation and deposition file software actually does
The components below appear in almost every deposition file. Which ones you need depends on the type of projects and on who does the calculating.
Sources
Per project and location.
Emissions
With the origin of the data.
Calculations
Version per calculation.
Update
Flag recalculations.
Reports
Kept with the file.
Substantiation
Bundled for the application.
Who we build nitrogen calculation and deposition file software for
The software is intended for anyone who regularly produces nitrogen calculations, or has them produced, across multiple projects or locations. The more calculations and versions, the more it delivers.
Consultancies
For multiple clients.
Initiators
Every project in order.
Construction companies
Construction and operational phase.
Agricultural businesses
Existing and new.
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This page is about nitrogen calculations and the file per project. If you want to maintain the complete application file for an environmental permit, see our page on environmental permit application file software. For manure bookkeeping, see our page on manure bookkeeping and load registration, for contact with the surrounding area our page on stakeholder management software, and for software on the competent authority's side our page on software for provinces. You can read about our approach on building custom software.
Why Appfront for your nitrogen calculation and deposition file software?
A calculation with a version that may no longer be used, an emission factor nobody remembers the origin of, or a report that does not match the sources in the application leads to questions from the competent authority or to delays. We build around that: for each project it is visible which inputs and version were used, and the substantiation is kept together.
Traceable
Inputs and version retained.
Flagged in time
After every update.
Complete
One file per project.
Security and privacy in nitrogen calculation and deposition file software
The file contains business data of initiators, such as operations, livestock numbers or production processes, and draft applications. Access is set up per role and per project: an adviser sees their own assignments, a client only their own file. Every entry and change is recorded with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted connections and storage and daily backups. An API key for AERIUS Connect is stored separately and encrypted. The calculation itself is performed in AERIUS; the software stores what was entered and what came out.
Frequently asked questions about software for nitrogen calculations and the deposition file
Questions that advisers, applicants and agricultural businesses ask before they get started.
For each project or location, it records the sources, emissions, AERIUS calculations with version, reports and supporting evidence. That way you can see in one place what an application rests on and when a calculation needs to be redone.
No. AERIUS is legally required for permit applications. The software works with AERIUS Calculator or connects to the calculation engine via AERIUS Connect, and stores the input and results.
According to AERIUS, the most current version, which since 6 October 2026 is version 2026. For ongoing procedures, that may mean a new calculation. The software flags which projects were calculated with an older version.
If significant effects on a Natura 2000 site cannot be ruled out in advance, an environmental permit for a Natura 2000 activity may be required, under Article 5.1 of the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet). Whether that applies to your project is something you assess with your adviser and the competent authority.
The law is in flux on these points; following rulings by the Council of State in December 2024, AERIUS notes that information about netting may no longer be accurate. The software does not take a position, but records which starting points you have chosen with your adviser.
An integration that lets other systems exchange data directly with AERIUS, without the Calculator user interface. According to AERIUS, it is intended for cases such as more than 5,000 sources or automating your own workflows, and it works with an API key.
For consultancies and applicants with many projects, locations or calculations. If you only run a single calculation for one project, AERIUS Calculator and a well-organised folder of reports are often enough.
Your nitrogen calculations per project in one place?
Tell us what kinds of projects you calculate, how you currently keep track of sources and versions, and who does the calculating. We will show you how the software can handle that.