A Hand-Up, Not a Hand-Out

It’s an old cliché, but one which has never been truer than it is today with Ukraine. When I visited in May, I found people everywhere looking to the future, thinking about what their country should look like post-war, and wanting to be part of a new Ukraine in Europe. They need help, absolutely; they need direct aid to rebuild their shattered infrastructure, 100 percent, but they are not looking for something for nothing. They want partners more than donors, stakeholders more than benefactors.

The Potential of Ukraine’s Biomethane Industry

When I visited, I went to talk to people involved in my industry – renewable gas or biomethane. I had read about the potential that Ukraine has, with estimates ranging from 9 billion to 20 billion cubic meters of biomethane that could be produced annually. To put that number in context, today, across the whole EU-27, only 3 billion cubic meters of biomethane are currently produced annually.

What I expected to find was just that – potential – what I found instead were people planning, working on, and developing new projects. Trying in the most difficult circumstances imaginable to build partnerships, set up cross-border trades, and build the supply chains needed for successful projects.

Ukrainian Innovators Taking Charge

These Ukrainian farmers, engineers, and developers are not waiting until the end of the war to develop their projects; they are working now. Instead of asking what they can receive in support from the EU, for example, they are as likely to turn the question back and ask how the EU will meet its commitments to produce 35 billion cubic meters of biomethane annually by 2030 without Ukraine.

Organic Development and Cross-Border Collaboration

Much of the development that has happened to date has happened organically, with large agri-businesses investing in new plants, or converting plants that were developed to generate electricity into ones which can inject biomethane into the gas grid. These locally grown businesses are connecting with companies in the EU to sell their gas directly or through the sale of the green premium for the gas produced.

The European Union’s Role

Therefore, the question that my Ukrainian colleagues put to me is the relevant one. Ukraine wants to develop a biomethane industry, but it does not need to in the immediate to medium term. The EU, however, will not make its 2030 target without utilizing Ukraine’s substantial resources, so what can the EU do to make that happen?

Energy Security and Independence

Related to the above is also an issue of EU and wider European energy security. Ukraine’s vast potential for biomethane will also reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and weaken its ability to use energy as a threat in the future.

Building a Green Gas Issuing Body in Ukraine

So, what should that hand up look like? Currently, Ukraine does not have a green gas issuing body, so the developing biomethane market is built upon private business-to-business trades. If a green gas issuing body can be created in Ukraine and recognized by the EU, then Ukrainians will be able to sell the green part of their gas production to anybody anywhere within the EU, opening up new markets and, as importantly, giving market certainty to those looking to invest in Ukrainian biomethane.

Mutual Benefits and Sustainable Growth

If that can be done, Ukraine will be able to build back better by replacing a large part of its existing fossil fuel gas network with a clean, green biomethane network; the EU will make a big step towards meeting its own biomethane targets, and Europe as a whole will take another step towards weaning itself off Russian energy.

A hand up, not a handout, and future cooperation based on mutual advantage.