European support for Ukraine in facing the Russian invasion could also come from a partnership on hydrogen.

The President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council national association, Oleksandr Riepkin, further to a meeting with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and with Maria Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, announced that European Union is ready to support the creation of two hydrogen valleys in Ukraine: one in Zakarpattia and the other in the Odessa region.

The two hubs could potentially host a total electrolysis capacity of 2.5 GW and produce up to 220,000 tons of green hydrogen per year starting in 2027. The green energy vector could then be distributed within Ukraine itself and towards other markets of the Old Continent, through pipelines, contributing to the creation of an infrastructural network for the transport of H2, in line with the objectives set on the subject by Brussels.

According to the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council, financial support from the EU would allow Ukraine to accelerate its energy transition path, reducing emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, and thus contributing to the reconstruction of the country, as well as strengthening energy security and the stability of the internal continent.

Oleksandr Riepkin expressed satisfaction with the progress made by the H2 supply chain in Ukraine over the past year, during which the organization has worked closely with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and especially with its Executive Director Bart Biebuyck.