Ukrhydroenergo has signed a memorandum with German company Andritz Hydro GmbH on a 5-10 MW green hydrogen production project in Ukraine.
The company's CEO, Ihor Syrota, said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He explained that Ukrhydroenergo had already signed a memorandum with Andritz and MAN Energy Solutions in May 2022. However, there were no results from the cooperation during the year. That's why Ukrhydroenergo signed a new memorandum with Andritz, as the company has two hydrogen-only divisions that cooperate with Norway.
Syrota emphasized that Germany is the driver of green hydrogen in Europe, and Andritz will seek funds from the German government to finance this project.
The company also planned to implement another 2 MW project.
"Now we are talking about 5-10 MW. First, in terms of 1 MW, it will be cheaper to build 5 MW than 2 MW. If building 2 MW will cost, conditionally, €3 million, then 5 MW will not cost €7.5 million, but €5-6 million," Syrota emphasized.
According to him, the hydrogen economy is the economy of the future and we need to move towards it. In addition, Ukraine already has capacities that will consume 5-10 MW of hydrogen.
Sirota did not provide details about potential customers, particularly for security reasons. But he assured that these issues have already been discussed with the partner.
"If we see that the project is effective for 3-4-5 years, then we will look for a grant for a pilot project, conditionally €6 million. For the Europeans, it is quite acceptable to allocate such an amount for a pilot hydrogen project in Ukraine – it is not €100 million, not a billion," he said. "We are working on these issues with experts who specialize in and develop the topic of hydrogen in Ukraine."
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Japanese business representatives presented the project of a green industrial zone in Buchi (Kyiv region) with an area of 3,000 hectares, where green hydrogen will be produced.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, General Director of Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota stated that the company plans to start construction of Europe's largest 212 MW energy storage at a hydroelectric power station (HPP) in 2024.
