In January 2025, the UK and Ukraine signed a 100 Year Partnership, which sets out our shared goals and priorities for the next century. Energy features prominently – the UK is seized of Ukraine’s remarkable expertise and potential in this vital sector.
Ukrainian energy workers have kept the lights on in the most challenging of circumstances: Russia has struck more than 1,000 Ukrainian energy facilities with missiles and drones since 2022.
The UK is committed to keeping Ukraine resilient and supporting our Ukrainian partners to take up their rightful place at the centre of European energy security.
Ukraine’s natural gas sector and its transition to low-carbon alternatives will be a pillar of the post-war economy. Ukraine has over 30 billion cubic meters of underground storage facilities – the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.
These storage facilities provide a fantastic opportunity for the EU and other countries to secure their gas supplies and deal with price fluctuations. Demand for storage is high, and European gas traders have benefitted from the Ukrainian offer even during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukraine’s gas transmission system has serious potential for green transition. Miles of gas pipes could be repurposed to transport the gases of the future, like biomethane and hydrogen. And the drilling services that form a major plank of the natural gas sector could be redeployed to extract geothermal energy.
Under our UK-Ukraine innovation partnership, InnovateUkraine, the UK is providing seed funding to pilot low-carbon innovations. Each InnovateUkraine project represents a partnership between British, Ukrainian and international businesses and research institutions. These pilots are designed to test and scale the sustainable energy innovations of the future.
One InnovateUkraine project is modelling Ukraine’s geothermal potential in the Transcarpathian region in the West of the country. A major Ukrainian energy company is already planning to invest its own money in geological exploration and drilling for a pilot geothermal plant as a direct result of this modelling, helping spur Ukraine’s economic recovery after the shock of the war.
Another feasibility study is creating a scalable business model for biome thane production. The UK is therefore helping Ukraine imagine and secure a low-carbon future for its pipeline infrastructure.
By combining the rich science, technology and innovation heritage of the UK and Ukraine, InnovateUkraine aims to address not only Ukraine’s immediate priorities, but also wider global challenges – the whole world has an interest in bringing down the costs of clean technologies like battery storage and heat pumps.
Beyond innovation, the UK is acting to create an enabling environment for new renewables. The UK is funding a Green Transition Office, an independent advisory body housed at the Ministry of Economy. The Office was designed with the help and advice of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, established in 2008.
The Green Transition Office will help implement Ukraine’s National Energy and Climate Plan, a cross-sector plan setting out milestones and policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% compared to 1990 levels by 2030.
The Green Transition Office provides expert advice to Ukraine’s ministries, with a view to attracting green investment and increasing the role of business in Ukraine’s low-carbon recovery.
To enhance this offer, the UK is providing the capital funding Ukrainian businesses need to construct new renewables. In April 2025, the UK provided grants to one of the first greenfield private projects in Ukraine’s power sector since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
UK grants, together with loans from multilateral development banks, will support OKKO Group to construct and operate wind power plants in Ukraine with a combined capacity of 147 MW. This will help Ukraine further shift towards renewable energy generation and bolster its energy security.
In strengthening the economy and allowing the next generation of Ukrainians to breathe clean air, our cooperation on energy perfectly enshrines the spirit of our 100-Year Partnership.
Andrew Ockenden, Development Director, British Embassy Kyiv
