On 12 November 2020 INTEGRITES* jointly with European-Ukrainian Energy Agency (EUEA)** hold an online conference “Hydrogen Economy in Ukraine: Roadmap”. The goal of the event was to give a place for the key energy stakeholders from private and public sectors to discuss the development of the hydrogen sector in Ukraine and practical aspects of its implementation.
The event gathered 13 speakers – representatives from the Ukrainian state authorities, business, gas and energy sectors as well as the largest investors into RES in Ukraine and IFIs from Germany, Portugal, Finland, the USA and 250+ participants. The conference included 3 sessions devoted to discussion of the best international strategies, political plans on internal market developing and international cooperation, opportunities and initiatives of the public sector in the hydrogen sector.
Olga Buslavets, acting Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection, in the welcome speech mentioned that Ukraine had an ambitious goal to decarbonize energy, industrial and transport sectors. “Green” hydrogen will ensure the achievement of this goal. The Ministry has already developed a roadmap for Ukraine’s hydrogen energy and outlined its primary goals among which are development of regulatory framework, introduction of standardization system as well as safety requirements for hydrogen production, storage and transportation.
The speakers told about the current developments in the sector, defined the main points for the hydrogen economy strategy in Ukraine, confirmed that the pipeline infrastructure is ready to transit hydrogen mixed with the natural gas. A speaker from the USA, a country with a well-developed hydrogen economy in California and the east coast, shared their practices in this field.
Oleksandra Gumeniuk, Director of EUEA, presented the topic “Hydrogen Policy Design”, in which she described the place of Ukraine in the EU Hydrogen strategy and the planned investments until 2050, she noted the significant emphasis in the design of hydrogen policy from her point of view and the lessons learned in 2019-2020 in the renewable energy sector.
Summing up, Ms. Gumeniuk noted that the development of hydrogen policy should be transparent, organized, long-term planned, with the involvement and cooperation of all market participants, as well as the civil society, systematically raising awareness and sharing experiences and knowledge of politicians and industry companies with partner countries. Also it needs resources to implement a large-scale communication and information campaign for the population of Ukraine to explain the importance of the industry for the economy, health and sustainable development in general.
Taking the opportunity, Oleksandra presented the newly established EUEA Hydrogen Working Group and invited all to cooperate.
View the Oleksandra Gumeniuk presentation: ENG – EUEA_Hudrogen policy design (1)
Press release of the event – https://cutt.ly/whz2xGW
Event’s website – h2economy.integrites.com
Speakers’ presentations – h2economy.integrites.com
Link to live stream in English – https://youtu.be/Gzh92jaZvhQ
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*Particularly focused on renewables, INTEGRITES is a full-service law firm representing the biggest international clients in EUR 3 billion worth wind and solar power projects in Ukraine with the cumulative 3+ GW capacity. For more information visit www.integrites.com.
**EUEA is an independent industry association, which joins the biggest foreign and Ukrainian investors in renewable energy, and since 2009, EUEA has grown into an effective advocate for the realization of Ukraine’s massive renewable energy and energy efficiency potential, by working within Ukraine’s business community, government structures, and with other key energy market stakeholders. www.euea.wsp.pp.ua
