A large-scale green hydrogen production project worth €2 billion is planned for the Volyn region. The project involves a full production cycle, including electricity generation and the supply of hydrogen to the European Union.
This was reported by Delo.ua, citing Serhiy Yevtushenko, the owner of the Ukrainian company UDP Renewables.
Immediate plans include signing an agreement with an unnamed potential partner. According to Yevtushenko, the partner will serve as both an investor in the plant and a buyer of its products.
The plant’s capacity is expected to allow for the production of about 50,000 tons of hydrogen annually, although Europe is ready to purchase significantly more of this environmentally friendly gas from Ukraine.
“In their hydrogen strategy, they want to buy 10 million t from Ukraine. With an investment of €2 billion in this project, we will produce 50,000 t,” the company owner said.
Logistics as the foundation of energy security
Due to complex project economics, many hydrogen production initiatives around the world have been put on hold, yet current geopolitical conditions are driving the deployment of new production.
At the same time, as the businessman points out, Europeans are more demanding about the availability of gas energy carriers and therefore choose sources closer to their borders.
That is why the hydrogen plant is to be established in Volyn. Apart from proximity to the EU, there are several reasons for this:
- Development of wind energy. Many new wind power plants are currently being built in the region, which will provide access to cheap and clean electricity for production;
- Access to water. The project is planned to be launched on the Bug River;
- Transport infrastructure. UDP Renewables expects to be able to use an existing gas pipeline to supply hydrogen.
“A gas pipeline runs nearby, which previously transported Russian gas to the European Union. Now, gas hardly flows through it, but the pipeline is still there. If we modernize the pipeline, transportation will cost about €0.5 per kilogram of hydrogen, and we become super competitive,” Serhiy Yevtushenko explained.
To utilize the existing infrastructure in the hydrogen project, 1,250 meters of the pipeline will need to be upgraded.
Competition in the EU market
Currently, Ukraine’s main competitor in supplying hydrogen to the EU is Morocco. However, countries with better weather conditions lose out to Ukraine in one factor – logistics.
The cost of Ukrainian hydrogen is directly influenced by “green” generation. According to Yevtushenko, Ukraine is not the sunniest country, and this can make the production cost of the gas €6–7.
The development of the industry is also hampered by the war, as it creates additional risks for investors.
Source: delo.ua
EcoPolitic previously reported that in Chile, a hydrogen project worth $10 billion was canceled. The reason was the risk of sky pollution near one of the world’s major astronomical observatories.
