“Road to URC 2025″: the future of Ukraine’s energy sector discussed in Milan with the participation of DiXi Group experts
On 5 March, Milan hosted a preparatory event for the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference. The key goal of this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference will be to strengthen the ongoing international support for the country’s recovery, reconstruction and modernisation, including from the private sector. About 350 international companies took part in the event.
Moderating the panel discussion “From Energy Sustainability to Green Transition: Opportunities for Ukraine’s Energy Market”, DiXi Group President Olena Pavlenko and the participants discussed Ukraine’s urgent needs for energy sector recovery, as well as how to mobilise the private sector to create a sustainable and resilient energy system, taking into account the EU’s overall climate goals and the goals of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).
“The challenges posed by the full-scale war are forcing Ukraine to look for new ways. The future of our energy system depends not only on the ability to restore the destroyed facilities, but also to build new ones – more sustainable and decentralised. This will increase the country’s energy security. In this context, public-private partnerships can be a key success factor”, – said Olena Pavlenko.
The main focus of the discussion was on attracting investment in renewable generation and decentralised technological solutions for the power system. The speakers included Svitlana Hrynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Roman Andarak, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, Natalia Boyko, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Adam Balogh, Head of the Energy Community Task Force for Ukraine, Fabio Pinton, Vice President for Energy Transition at OICE, Elinor Robins, Investment, Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure Specialist at IFC, and others.
Anton Antonenko, Vice President of DiXi Group, also took part in the discussion “Minerals and Critical Raw Materials: Discovering Ukraine’s Hidden Treasures”. Participants discussed how to create the preconditions for the development of this sector and thus stimulate the growth of entire industries. They also discussed what needs to be done to speed up the implementation of projects.
In his speech, Anton Antonenko spoke about the development of a comprehensive strategy for the development of critical raw materials, which the team of our think tank is involved in creating.
“If we look at the developed countries of the world, most of them have a clear vision for their critical minerals. This vision is often embodied in strategies. That is why we are very pleased to join a similar process in Ukraine. The development of such a strategy involves many stakeholders, with whom we are already holding rounds of consultations. Our goal is to develop high value-added industries in Ukraine based on its potential in critical raw materials. Ukraine must become a reliable and visible supplier of critical minerals and high value-added products based on them in the world”, – Anton Antonenko said in his speech.
In addition, Andriy Kitura, DiXi Group Development Director and Head of the Green Transition Office, moderated B2B networking between Ukrainian and Italian businesses on the development and implementation of projects in the energy and climate sectors.
Representatives of Ukrhydroenergo, Naftogaz, DTEK, EuroCape New Energy, and UNDP presented investment opportunities in the energy sector, renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and biomethane production.
The European partners were particularly interested in wind and solar power plants, biomethane production and transportation projects that could turn Ukraine from an importer to an exporter of clean energy to Europe.
“Joining the EU is a strategic focus for Ukraine. The NECP adopted last year is an important step towards bringing our legislation closer to the EU. Significant investments are required to achieve the document’s goals. The projects presented today demonstrate a huge potential for both investors and Ukraine, supporting the country’s accession to the EU, stimulating economic growth and job creation”, – said Andriy Kitura.
The participation in event was made possible by the financial support of the United Kingdom Agency for International Development as part of the project “Implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan of Ukraine and Establishment of the Office of Green Economic Transition” implemented by DIXI GROUP.
