Bio-energy Ukraine for Dutch companies: what Ukraine’s experience in bioenergy has shown international partners

Ukraine’s bioenergy sector continues to develop even amidst a full-scale war. In recent years, Ukraine has implemented biogas and biomethane projects, some of which are already operational and supplying biomethane to gas networks.

At the same time, behind every such project lies not only engineering work but also significant military risks. This was precisely what the Pro-Energy team discussed on 10 September during the “Bio-energy Ukraine for Dutch companies” meeting, organised by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Netherlands–Ukraine Energy Platform.

Pro-Energy demonstrated to an international audience that the Ukrainian bioenergy market continues to develop, whilst also highlighting the true cost of operating in a war zone — including damage to energy infrastructure and uncertainty regarding future investment.

Why Ukrainian bioenergy was discussed with Dutch businesses

The meeting brought together representatives of Dutch companies in the bioenergy sector who are keen to support Ukraine and develop projects in the Ukrainian market.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Netherlands–Ukraine Energy Platform, which was established to support Dutch energy companies working with Ukrainian partners and contributing to the restoration and strengthening of the resilience of Ukraine’s energy system.

This is an important platform for the Ukrainian bioenergy sector. The Netherlands possesses strong technological and engineering expertise in the field of bioenergy, whilst the Ukrainian market offers significant resource potential for the development of such projects.

A separate section of the meeting was devoted to the overall state and prospects of the Ukrainian bioenergy sector. Heorhii Geletukha, chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Bioenergy Association (UABIO) and a board member of the European Bioenergy Association, presented to participants the development of the biogas and biomethane sectors in Ukraine, and also spoke about the facilities that are already producing biomethane and bio-LNG for European markets.

This context is important for international companies, as the Ukrainian market for biomethane is already moving from individual pilot projects to practical implementation and the export of products to the European market.

Following a general overview of the market, Pro-Energy presented its own practical experience — from concept development and design through to the implementation, commissioning and maintenance of bioenergy facilities.

What role did Pro-Energy play in the meeting?

Pro-Energy was invited to act as the Ukrainian partner of a Dutch company with practical experience in the implementation of bioenergy projects.

The company was represented at the meeting by Malvina Shynkarchuk, who spoke about Pro-Energy’s work, the projects it has carried out, and the specific features of the development of the biogas and biomethane sectors in Ukraine.

A key element of the presentation was the full cycle of work on the project — from concept development and design to the supply of equipment, construction, installation and commissioning works, and subsequent after-sales support.

Malvina also emphasised the role of the team in achieving shared success. In a bioenergy project, technology alone does not guarantee results. It is essential to correctly assess the raw material base, determine the optimal capacity, take into account logistics, energy consumption and the future sales market, and integrate the technological solution into the enterprise’s actual operating conditions. It is the quality of the engineering and design work that determines how viable the future plant will be.

What is happening today with bioenergy projects in Ukraine?

One of the main aims of the presentation was to give international partners a true picture of the Ukrainian market.

On the one hand, the Ukrainian bioenergy sector is growing.

On the other hand, the war has a direct impact on projects that have already been completed and on decisions regarding new investments.

During the presentation, Pro-Energy showcased not only the projects it has completed, but also the consequences of military attacks on energy infrastructure.

This contrast was fundamental.

Ukraine has experience of implementing complex bioenergy projects during a full-scale war. At the same time, there is no reason to give international partners the impression that these projects are being implemented in a normal investment environment.

Today, companies are operating under the threat of missile and drone attacks, and investors must take into account the risk of damage to facilities that have already been built.

The development of bioenergy in Ukraine is therefore a matter of technology, funding, and security all at once.

Pro-Energy’s experience: projects carried out during the war

Some of the most notable examples for an international audience have been the projects carried out by Pro-Energy in collaboration with its partners. In particular, in collaboration with HoSt, the company has implemented one project involving a biogas plant for electricity generation, and in collaboration with Bright Renewables — four projects involving biomethane plants. At the time of the meeting, three of these were already supplying biomethane to Ukraine’s gas networks, whilst the fourth was scheduled to be connected by the end of September. These facilities are significant not only from a technological perspective. All of them were implemented after the start of the full-scale invasion.

In other words, the Ukrainian market has demonstrated that complex bioenergy projects can be launched and built even during a full-scale war.

This sends an important signal to the international business community: Ukrainian companies and their partners are continuing to invest, build and launch new projects, despite the security risks.

At the same time, this experience does not mean that the risks can be ignored.

What the Ukrainian bioenergy market needs

During the meeting, Pro-Energy emphasised the need to create conditions under which international capital can invest more safely in Ukrainian projects. Today, Ukraine needs more than just technology or equipment. The key issue is the protection of energy infrastructure from military attacks.

This is particularly important for biomethane projects, as they involve significant long-term investments. Investors need to understand not only the projected financial performance of the plant, but also what will happen to their investment should the facility be damaged.

Ukraine therefore needs mechanisms that can mitigate this risk, ranging from strengthening the physical security of its energy infrastructure to insurance and other financial instruments.

Without this, some technically ready projects may remain at the design stage for longer than is necessary in terms of the market’s technological readiness.

Why have geopolitical risks become a key concern for investors?

In a typical investment environment, the key considerations for a bioenergy project are feedstock, technology, capital expenditure, operating costs, the sales market, and the payback period.

In Ukraine, another factor has been added to this list that could alter the entire economics of the project: security. Damage to a facility means more than just direct financial losses. It also entails production downtime, the need for repairs, the risk of losing contracts, and additional costs for restoration. That is precisely why international support for the Ukrainian energy sector must encompass not only the financing of new projects, but also mechanisms to protect existing and future investments.

This applies not only to biomethane. This approach is important for the whole of Ukraine’s decentralised energy sector.

What interested the Dutch participants

Following the presentation, the participants asked a number of practical questions.

In particular, they were interested in whether other bioenergy projects, apart from biomethane plants, were being implemented in Ukraine — and specifically by Pro-Energy — and also what sources were being used to finance such projects: equity capital or bank financing.

Pro-Energy does indeed have experience in implementing other bioenergy solutions, in particular biomass boilers. However, during this meeting, the main focus was on projects carried out in partnership with Dutch technology companies.

This format made it possible to highlight precisely that segment of the Ukrainian market which is directly linked to the Dutch business community.

Ukraine has the resources, technology and ready-made projects

Despite all the risks, the Ukrainian market has one key advantage — the availability of a raw material base for the large-scale development of bioenergy.

The agricultural sector generates large volumes of organic waste, which can serve as a resource for the production of biogas and biomethane. These include manure, crop residues, silage, and waste from the food and processing industries.

In this context, biomethane is of particular strategic importance.

Once biogas has been purified to biomethane specifications, the resulting gas can be used as a renewable alternative to natural gas. This makes it possible to simultaneously address the issues of organic waste management, energy production and decarbonisation.

For Ukraine, this also presents an opportunity to gradually replace fossil gas with a renewable resource produced domestically.

That is precisely why international technology companies’ interest in the Ukrainian market remains well-founded, even under challenging conditions.

What did this meeting reveal? 

The “Bio-energy Ukraine for Dutch Companies” meeting did not result in any specific agreements on new projects. Its aim was different — to show international partners the true state of the Ukrainian bioenergy sector.

Pro-Energy’s key message to its international partners is therefore that, whilst Ukraine is operating in extremely challenging conditions, it continues to implement projects. It is important for international partners to help make these investments more secure.

Support for international business can help to safeguard existing investments and create the conditions under which technically ready projects will be able to move from the design stage to construction.

For Pro-Energy, this means continuing to work in the same direction: developing bioenergy projects, collaborating with international technology partners, and seeking solutions that enable the Ukrainian market’s potential to be realised amidst the war.

For Ukraine, bioenergy offers the opportunity to convert agricultural and organic waste into an energy resource, to develop decentralised power generation, and to gradually reduce dependence on fossil gas.

And this potential isn’t going anywhere. It’s just the circumstances in which it has to be realised that are changing.