Green Deal Ukraina: Energy and Climate Agenda for Ukraine’s way towards EU
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The first high-level event of the Green Deal Ukraina (GDU) project took place in October in Kyiv, Ukraine, attended by more than 150 participants. This first gathering and formal launch took place at an important moment: EU will share a new report on the countries progress towards EU and Ukraine will respond by sharing its own analysis, called pre-screening.
Green Deal Ukraina (GDU) is a common project by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Forum Energii, Warsaw, DixiGroup and EcoAction. The GDU project is funded by The German Ministry for Education and Research and strives to establish an independent energy and climate think tank in Kyiv by 2027.
The trilateral project is based in Berlin, Kyiv and Warsaw and brings together experts from a variety of fields, such as economics, engineering, and social sciences, to carry out interdisciplinary research and analysis. The geographic scope of expertise entails strong local knowledge of Ukraine, a specific understanding of Germany’s energy transition and Poland’s economic transition, and the European Union’s institutions. Accordingly, GDU will also contribute to strengthening further triangular cooperation between Ukraine, Germany and Poland in the field of energy and climate policy.
Green Deal Ukraina launch event on 09 October
At the event, Green Deal Ukraina shared first research results through an energy and climate roadmap for Ukraine towards the EU, and with scenarios on future Ukraine energy demand at 2030 and 2040 horizons. Those products had been jointly developed by the partners. They have been consulted with the conference participants and will be finalised thereafter.
A first high-level session was opened by German Minister for Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger, through a pre-registered statement. Polish Ambassador to Ukraine, Bartosz Cichocki, Ingrid Sovsun, Parliament member of Ukraine, and Oleksandr Butenko, deputy minister for territories and infrastructure highlighted the need for sustainable recovery and the importance of research, as well as decentralised solutions. GDU partner DixiGroup presented a study on access to public information in the energy sector and highlighted the need for democratic involvement of all stakeholders through a transparent process and public data.
Other speakers include deputy ministers for energy, for economy, high-level representatives of the Ministry for Energy, the Energy- and Climate Head of the EU delegation in Kyiv, the Energy Community, Ukrenergo, and members of the Parliament as well as the experts and representatives of the partners.
Green Deal Ukraina Advisory Board
The project, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), has also established a high-level Advisory Council that will gather for the first time on October 16th, 2023, in Berlin. The Advisory Council will guide the project towards the successful establishment of the think tank and includes the following personalities: Ottmar Edenhofer (PIK); Anka Feldhusen (German Ministry for Foreign Affairs); Artur Lorkowski (Director Energy Community); Bernd Rech (Scientific Director of HZB); Christian Zinglersen (Director of ACER); Christiane Dahrendorf (Susanne Henle Stiftung); Janusz Reiter (Former Ambassador Republic of Poland); Michal Kurtyka (Former Ambassador Republic of Poland); Jean-Michel Glachant (President IAEE); Laurence Tubiana (President and CEO of European Climate Foundation); Monika Morawiecka (Senior Advisor Regulatory Assistance Project); Robert Schlögl (President Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung); Volodymyr Kudritsky (CEO Ukrenergo); Yuri Kubrushko (Founding Partner Imepower).
Information about Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB)
HZB is a research center with a strong reputation for its expertise in energy research and materials science. HZB operates the synchrotron BESSY II, which facilitates cutting-edge studies on materials and is home to synthesis and analytical laboratories. HZB has extensive expertise in the analysis, development, and optimization of renewable energy generation, storage, and conversion technologies placing it at the forefront of the field. In fact, HZB is recognized as one of the world’s leading institutions in the development of thin-film photovoltaic technologies and has developed several new tandem solar cells with world record efficiencies. Beyond its pure technical expertise, HZB is known for its collaborative approach to research, working closely with other research institutions, universities, and industry partners across the world.
- Battery research with the HZB X-ray microscopeNew cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each charging cycle due to structural and chemical changes. Using X-ray methods at BESSY II, teams from several Chinese research institutions have now investigated these changes for the first time with highest precision: at the unique X-ray microscope, they were able to observe morphological and structural developments on the nanometre scale and also clarify chemical changes.
- BESSY II: New procedure for better thermoplasticsBio-based thermoplastics are produced from renewable organic materials and can be recycled after use. Their resilience can be improved by blending bio-based thermoplastics with other thermoplastics. However, the interface between the materials in these blends sometimes requires enhancement to achieve optimal properties. A team from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has now investigated at BESSY II how a new process enables thermoplastic blends with a high interfacial strength to be made from two base materials: Images taken at the new nano station of the IRIS beamline showed that nanocrystalline layers form during the process, which increase material performance.
- Hydrogen: Breakthrough in alkaline membrane electrolysersA team from the Technical University of Berlin, HZB, IMTEK (University of Freiburg) and Siemens Energy has developed a highly efficient alkaline membrane electrolyser that approaches the performance of established PEM electrolysers. What makes this achievement remarkable is the use of inexpensive nickel compounds for the anode catalyst, replacing costly and rare iridium. At BESSY II, the team was able to elucidate the catalytic processes in detail using operando measurements, and a theory team (USA, Singapore) provided a consistent molecular description. In Freiburg, prototype cells were built using a new coating process and tested in operation. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis.