DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm and owned by the country’s oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, recently acquired a $72 million Emergency Liquidity Facility loan. This award will help build one of the largest battery energy storage facilities in East Europe. This financial arrangement will accelerate the construction of five energy storage facilities throughout Ukraine. It will decisively advance the country’s renewable energy goals.
The loan will provide financing for about half of their construction costs for these facilities. Collectively, they have a remarkable gleaming capacity of 180 megawatts (MW). DTEK has pledged to cover the rest of the costs related to this ambitious undertaking. The loan agreement will be in effect through September 25, 2030. This new commitment comes as a major support to Ukraine’s rebuilding energy infrastructure.
As Maksym Timchenko, the CEO of DTEK, put it, “Given the challenges we have faced in recent months, these investments are more important now than ever. DTEK is interested in deploying new capacity in the energy sector in order to address issues that are being faced today. These investments align with Ukraine’s long-term effort to attain energy resilience and independence,” he said.
The backdrop to this investment is stark. In 2024, DTEK experienced an astronomical 90% decrease in available energy generation capacity. Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused much of this dramatic drop. In total, these attacks resulted in Ukraine losing 9 gigawatts of energy capacity. This loss equated to about 44% of the nation’s winter peak consumption.
Prior to the full-scale invasion by Russia in February 2022, renewable energy sources accounted for approximately 10% of Ukraine’s energy grid. In reaction to these regulatory hurdles, the government of Ukraine plans to raise this share to 27% by 2030. DTEK’s initiative fits perfectly with these goals as it aims to increase domestic renewable energy production in the country.
In addition to the current loan, DTEK announced plans to construct Poland’s inaugural large-scale electricity storage facility by March 2025. This demonstrates DTEK’s plans to establish a synchronized pan-European energy system that is linked with Ukraine. It signals their larger aspirational view of what regional energy cooperation looks like.
Serhiy Chernenko, board chairman of PUMB, reinforced the significance of this investment: “We recognize our responsibility as a bank that consistently supports the country, and we are doing everything we can to financially contribute to the development of new energy capacities. Spending on new infrastructure is just half of the equation. In addition, we have a strong interest in increasing our state’s energy independence and security.