In talks with foreign investors, the first question Roman Matys hears is about energy: where will a new plant or logistics centre get its electricity in a country whose power grid Russia keeps shelling?
Even so, he sees two upsides: the market is being demonopolised, and new infrastructure is built with modern technology. He gives two solutions, one short-term and one long-term.
Short-term: a memorandum between the state-owned Energy Company of Ukraine and the Turkish firm Karpowership on floating power plants. The plan was for 500 MW, enough for about a million households. The ships would be moored off Moldova and Romania, with power sent to Ukraine over interconnectors.
Long-term: small modular reactors. Japan’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Matsuda Kuninori, said Japan wants to take part in rebuilding Ukraine’s energy sector, including through SMRs and hydrogen projects. Such reactors are compact, have passive safety and need little land. In the UK, Rolls-Royce received GBP 18 million to design a modular system; China began building the first commercial land-based SMR in 2021; Poland’s Synthos plans a 300 MW Hitachi BWRX-300 reactor.
Working with Japan and other partners gives Ukraine a chance to diversify its power system and supply new production with non-fossil energy. For an investor, that is an argument for a long horizon in Ukraine.
Original (in Ukrainian): matys.com.ua