Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 34 2021

FSUOGM ENERGY TRANSITION FSUOGM

Naftogaz teams up with RWE

to develop hydrogen

UKRAINE UKRAINIAN natural gas firm Naftogaz has Ukraine with investments in clean energy such
teamed up with German energy group RWE as hydrogen as a sort of compensation.
The agreement was on potentially developing green hydrogen and Germany is also eager to establish import
reached during talks ammonia in Ukraine. options for hydrogen supplies. In its hydrogen
between Merkel and The pair have signed a memorandum of strategy, the country plans a significant scale-up
Zelenskiy in Kyiv. understanding (MoU) to “explore mutually in its own green hydrogen production capacity,
beneficial co-operation opportunities along the but this will be surpassed by demand, and so
full value chain of green hydrogen and its deriv- imports will be needed to cover the shortfall.
atives like ammonia produced in Ukraine,” the Green hydrogen is produced from water
companies said in a statement on August 22. using electrolysers powered by renewable
They will look at producing and storing the fuels energy. Ukraine has already expanded its renew-
in Ukraine, and potentially exporting term to able energy capacity significantly in recent years,
Germany. They will also evaluate commercial but would need to upscale substantially further
opportunities for selling Ukrainian green hydro- in order to export green hydrogen while also
gen in European markets. decarbonising its own power grid.
The agreement was signed during German In late July, the European Bank for Recon-
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Kyiv for dis- struction and Development (EBRD) said it had
cussions about energy and security issues with agreed to help Ukraine’s gas transmission system
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It operator (TSO) develop low-carbon hydrogen.
also comes a month after Germany and the US Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko also revealed last
agreed to allow Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project month that talks were underway with several
to go ahead. German partners on establishing hydrogen trade
The pipeline’s launch will likely mean Ukraine from Ukraine to Germany.
loses out on billions of dollars of revenues from In addition to Ukraine, Germany is also inter-
transiting Russian gas. As part of its agreement ested in importing hydrogen from Russia, Africa
with Washington, Berlin said it would provide and elsewhere. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 25•August•2021