Ukraine secures financing for wartime energy storage and bioenergy projects

Ukraine has secured financing for a major energy storage facility backed by international insurance coverage, while plans are advancing for a new bioenergy complex in the country’s west, as Kyiv seeks to strengthen its energy resilience after repeated Russian attacks on infrastructure, reported Ukraine Business News.

State-owned lender Oschadbank said it had provided a €23.6mn loan to Elektryka Ukraine for the construction of a 50-megawatt electricity storage system with a capacity of 131.2 megawatt-hours.

The financing covers around 70% of the project cost and is tied to a long-term agreement with Ukrenergo to provide automatic frequency restoration reserve services to the power grid.

Oschadbank said the deal was significant not only because of its size but because it included international insurance coverage arranged through Lloyd’s syndicates, a rare arrangement for infrastructure financing during wartime.

“This is one of the few examples in Ukraine where international insurers are participating in covering the risks of an infrastructure project during the war,” the bank said.

Ukraine has rapidly expanded its interest in battery storage systems after waves of Russian missile and drone strikes severely damaged power generation facilities and exposed shortages in flexible generating capacity needed to balance the grid.

Energy officials estimate that around 500 MW of storage capacity has already been launched across Ukraine, with the figure expected to rise to 1,000 MW by the end of the year.

Energy storage facilities are viewed as critical for stabilising the electricity system by quickly responding to fluctuations in consumption and compensating for the loss of manoeuvrable generation assets damaged in the conflict.

Separately, public consultations have begun on plans for a new bioenergy complex in the Lviv region that would produce biogas, biomethane and electricity from agricultural waste.

According to documents filed in Ukraine’s environmental impact assessment register, Sokoliv Energy plans to construct a facility capable of producing 13.7mn cubic metres of biogas, 3.84mn cubic metres of biomethane and nearly 15mn kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

The project would use cattle manure, corn silage, rye silage and grain waste as feedstock and is expected to create 51 jobs.

Sokoliv Energy was established in late 2025 by Gadz-Agro, whose beneficiaries include agribusiness owner Petro Gadz and Vitaliy Antonov, the founder of OKKO Group.