Acting Energy Minister Olha Buslavets intends to sign in Germany a memorandum on a new energy partnership, providing for the development of hydrogen technologies in Ukraine, said chairman of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council Association Oleksandr Repkin.
“On August 25-27, head of the Ministry of Energy Olha Buslavets will visit Germany, where it is planned to sign a memorandum on a new energy partnership, of which hydrogen energy is a part. Ukraine is going there to propose certain pilot projects with a scale of 100 MW, similar to the project being implemented in Morocco – a solar-hydrogen plant with a capacity of 100 MW,”Repkin said during an online discussion on the prospects for the development of hydrogen energy in Ukraine, organized by the energy committee of the Ukrainian Venture Capital Association on Tuesday.
He said Germany considered that it would not have enough of its own resources for the production of renewable hydrogen, therefore it considers Ukraine as a partner for obtaining this resource.
He also announced on August 14 the first meeting of the expert working group under the Ministry of Energy under his leadership, at which, in particular, the issue of adapting Ukraine’s energy strategy regarding hydrogen technologies will be considered.
“We are starting concrete steps to keep up with the EU countries,” Repkin said.
He also noted that according to the European Hydrogen Strategy, recently presented by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, Europe regards Ukraine as a partner, but it is necessary to develop the internal hydrogen market for this.
“In Europe, they see us as a 10GW partner. What does this mean? There is such an opportunity, and they will support us. But there is one thing, which is not spelled out, but it is said. They will support only those countries that create an internal hydrogen market in their country. “Timmermans made it clear: friends, we are ready to help you with 7.5 GW so that you create and import them, but for 2.5 GW you must create your own market,” Repkin said, noting that by the end of 2023, “We are expected to half a million tonnes of import of renewable hydrogen, and in the future – 3 million tonnes annually.”
According to him, in order to enter the European market in Ukraine, conditions must be provided, in particular for the use of hydrogen transport, there must also be the use of hydrogen in the metallurgical and chemical industries.
He said that in Ukraine there is already an example of the construction of the first hydrogen filling station in partnership with the Danes.
“Entrepreneurs from Kharkiv have joined our association. Their idea is to convert all public transport to hydrogen,” said the head of the association.
At the same time, he predicted that the development of hydrogen technologies in the country will proceed more actively than expected.
As reported, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine can become a reliable supplier of hydrogen to the EU, in particular to Germany.
In July, the European Union adopted a strategy for the introduction of renewable hydrogen. It involves the addition of an integrated energy system with a massive industrial production of renewable hydrogen. It can serve as a source of energy where the use of electricity is difficult. In the future, it will be produced mainly using wind and solar energy.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) has announced the opening of the fifth store of a new format, Miasomarket (Meat Market), in Cherkasy on August 28, in Kropyvnytsky and Kyiv in September. According to a press release from the company, MHP intends to open about 50 stores throughout Ukraine by the end of the year. New retail outlets are already operating in Kovel, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dubno.
“The opening of new format stores is in line with MHP’s strategy of transforming from a raw material company into a culinary one. Thus, in addition to a wide selection of fresh meat, the stores offer consumers meat in marinades, sausages and other products,” MHP said.
The agricultural holding indicated that MHP had received many applications and requests from partners to open stores of a new format throughout Ukraine.
As reported, by the end of the year, MHP intends to open new retail outlets in 20 more cities of Ukraine. The new format of its business is developing according to the franchising system. Meat Markets will be opened with both existing and new investors.
MHP is the largest poultry producer in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of grain, sunflower oil, meat. MHP supplies the European market with chilled half-carcasses of chickens, which are processed, in particular, at its factories in the Netherlands and Slovakia.
The epidemic situation in Volyn, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi regions does not meet the criteria for easing lockdown, the Health Ministry said on its website on Tuesday.
The occupancy of beds, in particular, exceeds the permissible indicator of 53.31% in Lviv region. However, in Odesa and Sumy regions, the dynamics of the spread of the disease exceeds the established value of 10%.
The percentage of disease detection is higher than the established value of 11% in Volyn, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi regions.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced adaptive lockdown until August 31, 2020, changed the principle of the distribution of regions to strengthen lockdown measures.
Depending on the epidemic situation in the region or individual administrative territorial units-districts, a “green,” “yellow,” “orange” or “red” level of epidemic danger of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease is established.
CHERNIVTSI, EPIDEMIC SITUATION, IVANO-FRANKIVSK, KHARKIV, LVIV, ODESA, RIVNE, SUMY, VOLYN, ZHYTOMYR
Head of the State Property Fund (SPF) Dmytro Sennychenko has announced the Fund’s readiness to begin the process of privatization of objects of the State Enterprise Ukrspyrt, the department has already received 12 proposals for privatization.
According to the Fund’s press release posted on Tuesday, the privatization of the alcohol industry at the first stage provides for the placement of Ukrspyrt facilities for transparent auctions. The total number of objects ready for the privatization process is 41.
The Chairman of the State Property Fund also drew attention to the fact that the key condition for the successful privatization of assets in the alcohol industry is the prompt approval by the government of the Program for the Reform and Development of the Alcohol Industry, which will provide for the procedure and conditions for the sale.
“Potential investors in the alcohol production industry are not only food alcohol producers, but also pharmaceutical companies, automotive fuel producers and agricultural companies that are interested in processing their own products,” the SPF’s press service quoted Sennychenko as saying.
According to him, until recently Ukraine, together with Belarus, were the only countries in the world with a state monopoly on alcohol production.
“This has led to the fact that over the past decade, the production of legal potable alcohol in Ukraine has decreased four times, and the share of its shadow turnover has increased from 10% of total consumption in 2007 to 55% in 2019,” said the head of the SPF.
The arrival of 5,000 to 10,000 Hasidim in the city of Uman, Cherkasy region to celebrate the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah is expected in 2020, and this causes great concern both within Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Oleh Nemchinov said.
“Today, a meeting of the State Commission on Manmade Disaster and Emergency Response was held. One of the key issues that were discussed was the planned mass pilgrimage of Breslov Chasidim in September 2020 to the city of Uman, Cherkasy region to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year),” Nemchinov wrote on his Facebook page.
In this regard, the commission instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen communication to inform foreign citizens about the restrictions in force in Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strengthen and ensure security during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the State Border Guard Service to develop a booklet of stay in Ukraine and distribute it at the crossing Ukrainian border, as well as inform about a possible ban on entry to Ukraine for several years in case of violation of lockdown.
“In addition, at the meeting of the commission, it was noted that in 2020, Ukrainian Christians and Muslims abstained from mass events during the celebration of their largest religious holidays,” Nemchinov said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed Verkhovna Rada’s bill No. 2285-d on state regulation on organizing and conducting the gambling activity.
The Ukrainian parliament said on its website that the bill was returned with the signature of the head of state on August 11.
