Concorde Capital investment group and its partners have officially launched the first phase of the Encraft project, which is a network of distributed generation facilities and energy storage systems, founder and owner Igor Mazepa announced on Friday.
“Yesterday, the first gas piston started operating, and there are eight of them in total. Within two weeks, all of them will start generating power,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Mazepa, the first 18.4 MW of gas piston power plants are ready for commercial operation, and electricity will begin to be sold to the grid starting on Friday, February 20.
“The initial investment amounted to approximately EUR15 million, most of which was covered by Concorde’s own capital, with the remainder coming from private investors who joined the project,” said the company’s founder.
He added that the project is still expanding, and by the end of 2026, the company plans to launch another 60 MW/240 MWh of energy storage capacity throughout Ukraine.
“We would like to thank all the investors who have joined us for their trust, and we invite new investors to join the second phase of Encraft,” Mazepa said to potential investors.
As reported, at the end of last year, Concorde Capital planned to launch 18.4 MW of gas piston generation, which was under construction at the time, in early 2026.
In early 2025, Mazepa, with the help of four unnamed partners, purchased a 50 MW energy storage system for EUR 32 million and planned to contract equipment for a gas power plant for EUR 30 million to create a single energy complex.
Concorde Capital investment group plans to launch 18.4 MW of gas-piston power generation in early 2026, which is currently in the construction phase , founder and owner Igor Mazepa said.
“Our Encraft energy project is a network of distributed generation facilities and energy storage systems. We act as an investor, structure financing, attract partners and are responsible for the further sale of the business,” he wrote on his Facebook page after a meeting with CEO Club participants.
In addition, Mazepa said the group plans to introduce 40 MW/160 MW*h energy storage systems in different regions of Ukraine by the end of 2026.
“The context that everyone is well aware of: generation deficit, volatile prices and demand for flexible capacity. According to our estimates, these conditions will persist at least until 2029,” he noted.
Concorde Capital founder noted that the group is open to co-investment in the said project.
“Energy today is not an abstract ‘idea’, but a concrete investment logic backed by a team of strong specialists and real numbers,” he believes.
As reported with reference to Mazepa, Concorde Capital planned to invest EUR120 mln in energy projects by the end of 2025 and expected to be able to build an energy company worth over $1 bln in “a couple of years”. In early 2025, Mazepa, with the help of four unnamed partners, purchased a 50 MW energy storage system for EUR32 mln and planned to contract equipment for a gas-fired power plant for EUR30 mln to create a single energy complex.
The Concorde Capital investment group plans to launch 18.4 MW of gas piston generation in early 2026, which is currently under construction, according to founder and owner Igor Mazepa.
“Our energy project, Encraft, is a network of distributed generation facilities and energy storage systems. We act as an investor, structure financing, attract partners, and are responsible for the subsequent sale of the business,” he wrote on his Facebook page after meeting with members of the CEO Club.
In addition, according to Mazepa, by the end of 2026, the group plans to introduce 40 MW/160 MWh* of energy storage systems in various regions of Ukraine.
“The context is well understood by everyone: generation shortages, volatile prices, and demand for flexible capacity. According to our estimates, these conditions will remain in place until at least 2029,” he said.
The founder of Concorde Capital emphasized that the group is open to co-investing in the project.
“Energy today is not an abstract ‘idea’ but a concrete investment logic backed by a team of strong professionals and real numbers,” he believes.
As reported with reference to Mazepa, Concorde Capital planned to invest EUR120 million in energy projects by the end of 2025 and expected to be able to build an energy company worth more than $1 billion in “a couple of years.”
In early 2025, Mazepa, with the help of four unnamed partners, acquired a 50 MW energy storage system for EUR 32 million and planned to contract equipment for a gas power plant worth EUR 30 million to create a single energy complex.
Ukraine’s real deficit to cover all military and budget expenditures, which must be covered by foreign aid in 2025-2026, is approximately equal to the 2024 figure and amounts to about $90 billion annually, according to Alexander Paraschiy, head of the analytical department at investment company Concorde Capital.
“Ukraine’s total need for external assistance, both financial and military, averages approximately $90 billion for 2024, 2025, and 2026,” he said during a discussion titled “What awaits the economy in 2025 and beyond,” organized by the Center for Economic Strategy on Friday.
Parashchiy noted that in 2024, defense and security spending amounted to approximately $95 billion, this year it is likely to increase to $100-105 billion, and in 2026, according to the new Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal, the need could reach $120 billion.
He recalled that other state budget needs amount to approximately $42 billion, while Ukraine will be able to collect about $55 billion this year through taxes, fees, dividends, and financing from the NBU’s profits.
“That means we have a hole of about $142-55 billion, which is much more than the financial deficit figure,” the Concorde Capital analyst explained his calculations.
According to him, this need will be covered this year mainly through the EPA program (via frozen Russian assets) and the EU’s Ukraine Facility program, as well as the remainder of previously approved military aid from the United States.
“Let’s hope that the new administration (in the US) will still provide assistance under the new programs. But the biggest question now, unfortunately, is the financing of the war in 2026, because our total need for both financial and military assistance next year could reach $100 billion. And how to cover this need, unfortunately, remains a very big question,” Parashchiy concluded.
As reported, this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine needs to cover a deficit of $65 billion per year, of which $40 billion is for budget needs and $25 billion is for domestic defense production.
The Concorde Capital investment group plans to invest EUR120 million in energy projects by the end of this year and expects to build an energy company worth more than $1 billion in “a couple of years,” according to founder and owner Igor Mazepa.
“By the end of the year, we will invest EUR120 million. The market is a ‘blue ocean’ with no competition, so it’s just a matter of getting started. The IRR in this case is 35%, which means a return on investment in 2.5-3 years,” Mazepa said at the Forbes Money forum in Kyiv.
According to him, the market expects gas prices to rise and electricity prices to fall, but with a projected payback period of 2-3 years, investors will already feel more confident.
Mazepa noted that he first invested in the energy sector in August 2024, investing EUR 32 million in a pilot project, and is already seeing the first results of this investment, which confirm the correctness of this strategy.
In his opinion, such prospects are related to the fact that 10 GW of power capacity has been destroyed by the aggressor, and this is mainly maneuverable capacity, which is the most expensive and for which the market pays a premium price.
“There has never been such a price, not once, not in a single year that I can remember in the last 25 years.
It is even higher than in some Eastern European countries. It’s an amazing market, huge, worth billions of dollars!“ emphasized the owner of Concorde Capital, adding that gas and electricity prices are expected to rise further.
”I think that in a couple of years we will build just such a billion-dollar company in the energy sector,” he concluded.
As reported, Mazepa, with the help of four unnamed partners, acquired a 50 MW energy storage system for EUR 32 million in early 2025 and plans to then contract equipment for a gas-fired power plant worth EUR 30 million to create a single energy complex.
Alexei Timofeev, a member of the board of directors of BGV Group Management, who spoke alongside Mazepa, agreed that there are attractive investment opportunities in the energy sector, where the group has also accepted five projects – wind, batteries, gas cogeneration, and investments in the energy efficiency of utility networks through an energy service company. At the same time, he stressed that these are short-term and relatively small projects, and that this “hot” market is not about billions in investments.
“This is simply an illustration of the approach that exists, which does not work in the long term. Because it is impossible to make long-term forecasts based on peak prices without taking into account factors such as the return or non-return of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the restoration or non-restoration of coal-fired power generation… In general, when you jump above zero in three years, you can afford such things, but no billions will come here – there is nowhere to go,” the expert believes.
He added that Ukraine does not need to restore 10 GW of destroyed energy capacity because it does not have such a deficit. “Ukraine’s energy sector was in surplus before the war, and everything that has been destroyed is reflected in the fact that we have deindustrialization, loss of territory, and loss of population,” Timofeev said.
Kryvyi Rih Cement plans to build 24 MW of power generation, the founder of Concorde Capital, Igor Mazepa, said on Facebook.
“We are currently building an independent power generation facility at Kryvyi Rih Cement. We need to generate 24 MW of power. This will be enough to keep the plant running smoothly,” he wrote.
According to him, the project will cost about $15 million, with a payback period of three to four years.
According to Mazepa, “This is a necessary measure to keep the business from stopping. In general, I see the prospect of investing in energy projects. Therefore, in the short term, we will build 40 MW of storage capacity, which will be balancing in the energy market. We see a good ROI of up to 30% depending on the market scenario.”
“Kryvyi Rih Cement (formerly Heidelberg Cement Ukraine) produces construction materials in three areas: cement, concrete, and granite crushed stone. On May 14, 2019, Cypriot Overin Limited, which is affiliated with Concorde Capital, became the owner of the dominant controlling stake in the company.
BUILD, CONCORDE CAPITAL, Kryvyi Rih Cement, power generation - founder
