DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko and Honeywell President for Central and Eastern Europe Przemek Schuder signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.
“The companies have agreed to explore prospects for accelerated recovery and maximization of DTEK’s capacities damaged by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, implementation of energy storage systems and Honeywell’s advanced modular solutions for oil and gas processing,” DTEK’s website reports.
The companies will also cooperate in supporting DTEK’s overall long-term energy transition strategy by offering solutions to optimize and decarbonize energy production.
According to Timchenko, the expansion of cooperation with Honeywell will mark a new phase in Ukraine’s recovery process and strengthen its energy security and economic potential.
“Large-scale international partnerships are the foundation for Ukraine’s recovery, and today’s announcement is an example of how Ukraine needs actions, not words. Our energy system is under constant threat, and I am deeply grateful to Honeywell for its unwavering support in restoring and creating a new energy system,” DTEK CEO said in a release.
Schuder, for his part, noted that, according to its portfolio focused on three global megatrends, namely automation, energy transition and the future of aviation, Honeywell is an innovator in the introduction of technologies that accelerate the transition and automation of the energy sector.
“We are committed to supporting the industry’s urgent needs today, from resilience to optimization, and we are pleased to expand our cooperation with DTEK, which we highly value, to jointly find new ways to support Ukraine’s current and long-term energy needs,” he added.
DTEK said that its cooperation with Honeywell began in May 2021, when the companies launched Ukraine’s first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Enerhodar, and now it will support DTEK in assessing Ukraine’s critical energy needs and provide recommendations on how to implement Honeywell’s BESS together with DTEK’s current systems.
Honeywell’s BESS includes a set of technologies for automating and managing the storage and delivery of energy to a microgrid or national grid. This is a critical solution for managing the distribution of electricity, including from renewable sources, DTEK explained.
DTEK Energy’s machine builders manufactured and repaired 553 units of mining equipment in January-April this year, including six new tunnelling and shearers.
“Machine builders also provided 355,000 spare parts and components to meet the needs of Ukrainian miners,” the energy holding said in a press release on Tuesday.
According to DTEK Energy CEO Ildar Saleev, the company’s main efforts are currently focused on restoring the damaged and destroyed thermal generation, which suffered the most from Russian attacks on the power grid in the spring of this year.
“The next winter is a real challenge for all power engineers, as the power system has lost more than 8 GW of capacity due to Russia’s recent massive attacks. The volumes are enormous. And despite a significant drop in coal consumption by our thermal power plants, we are doing everything possible to maintain last year’s production volumes,” Saleev said in a press release.
As reported, in 2023, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to about UAH 7 billion, which is almost twice as much as in 2022.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. As of January 2022, the company’s installed capacity in thermal generation amounted to 13.3 GW. The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering and maintenance of mine equipment.
Currently, more than 50% of DTEK’s thermal generation capacity has been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks.
DTEK Energy Holding, through its EU-focused subsidiary DRI, has signed an agreement with Polish company Columbus Energy to build a 133 MW energy storage system in southern Poland.
“On March 27, DRI signed a definitive binding share purchase agreement with Polish company Columbus Energy, which will give it the right to build a 133 MW battery storage facility in southern Poland, subject to permits,” DTEK said in a release on its website on Wednesday.
DTEK notes that this is the largest energy storage system (ESS) project in Poland, and the agreement is its first major infrastructure investment in the country and a key element in the company’s plan to create a pan-European energy system uniting Ukraine and the EU. DTEK’s goal is to create a 5 GW portfolio of renewable energy projects in Europe by 2030 through DRI.
The acquisition of the 133 MW SPP project makes DTEK Group one of the first companies to develop this technology on a large scale in Poland, the release said.
DRI expects to close the deal with Columbus in the coming months and start construction of the facility in Q4 2024 to complete it and put it into operation in early 2026. The project is committed to providing energy capacity to the Polish market for 17 years (from 2027).
“Today’s signing marks an exciting moment in Europe’s quest to move beyond fossil fuels. This project will not only provide vital flexibility on Poland’s path to a renewable future, but will also be an important achievement for Central and Eastern Europe in demonstrating how battery storage can be successfully developed. DTEK’s investments in the country are a crucial step towards the integration of the energy systems of Ukraine and Poland,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK Group, as quoted in the release.
According to Krzysztof Kokhanowski, Vice President of the Board and CEO of PIME, the largest association in the energy storage industry in Poland, it is gratifying to see international energy players like DTEK investing in the Polish battery market through its EU subsidiary.
“Poland is one of the leaders in the European Union in the production of batteries and battery cells, and in the next 5 years it will be one of the leaders in the construction of energy storage facilities based on battery technology. The construction of this new facility will certainly contribute to our country’s efforts,” he said.
According to the release, Poland currently uses 30 GW of coal and natural gas-fired power to balance its energy system, which is increasingly using renewable energy sources and shifting from centralized to distributed generation. The batteries will help to ensure the grid’s performance and provide the power system with a reliable mechanism for balancing the unstable nature of renewable energy.
As reported, DTEK Group implemented a 1 MW pilot project in Enerhodar in 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is now under occupation. In early 2024, DRI launched its first projects in Europe: in Romania, the 60 MW Ruginoasa wind farm and the 53 MW Glodeni solar power plant. It also intends to develop renewable energy in Romania, Italy, and Croatia.
DTEK has purchased a system that will increase the efficiency of oil and gas field development.
“Our team has started using the Stryde cable-free seismic survey system, which will help us: conduct exploration at greater depths, improve the accuracy of forecasts, and abandon heavy equipment,” the energy holding said on its Telegram channel on Friday.
According to DTEK, the system has already been successfully used at one of the fields in Poltava region and made it possible to abandon heavy trucks.
As reported, DTEK Oil&Gas produced 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2022 (2.06 billion cubic meters in 2021). In 2023, the company intends to invest $120-130 million in gas production. 70% of these funds will be used to develop new fields.
In November 2022, DTEK Oil&Gas companies acquired the right to develop two gas fields in Poltava region at an open auction: Mayorivska field for UAH 1.102 billion and Birkivsko-Zinkivska field for UAH 211 million.
DTEK Group’s total investments in its areas of activity in Ukraine, excluding the Tiligul wind farm project, amounted to approximately $550 million in 2023, and $1 billion in total since the beginning of the full-scale war, said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of the group.
“The total volume of investments in DTEK Group, excluding the Tiligul wind farm project (EUR 200 million – IF-U), was approximately $550 million last year, and $1 billion in total since the beginning of the full-scale war,” Timchenko said in an exclusive blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine from the International Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
According to him, during the war, DTEK “invested huge amounts of money in grids, power plants, coal mining, oil and gas.”
“There are probably not many Ukrainian companies that have invested so much in the country’s economy during a full-scale war,” the DTEK CEO emphasized.
“In 2023, DTEK Energy invested about UAH 11 billion in the repair campaign at thermal power plants and Ukrainian coal mining, which is almost twice as much as in 2022, when investments amounted to about UAH 6 billion.
“Thanks to this, we managed to restore a significant part of the thermal generation capacities damaged by enemy shelling, implement the annual scheduled repair campaign at thermal power plants, and support the production of coal volumes necessary for their reliable operation,” the energy holding said in a press release on Friday.
Last year, the company’s power engineers restored nine power units after massive shelling. The renewed facilities made it possible to increase the operation of thermal generation at peak consumption.
“To prepare the equipment of thermal power plants for maximum performance in the current heating season, DTEK Energy has carried out 24 repairs of power units as part of the annual scheduled maintenance campaign,” the company said.
In addition, DTEK Energy has mothballed two additional power units with a total capacity of 500 MW to compensate for the capacities that could not be repaired before winter. Investments in the repair campaign, according to preliminary data, amounted to about UAH 4 billion, compared to UAH 2.2 billion in 2022.
As part of the repair campaign, the company purchased and stockpiled critical equipment in case of new shelling, and provided TPPs and mines with backup power sources in the form of more than 200 powerful generators.
Last year, DTEK Energy also put 26 new coal faces into operation, which allowed miners to meet their production targets and provide Ukrainian thermal power plants with enough fuel to operate during the heating season and other peaks in consumption.
According to preliminary data, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to about UAH 7 billion, compared to UAH 3.8 billion in 2022.
“We went through the most difficult winter and recovered as much as physically possible after such large-scale attacks and in such a short time. And we have already come close to the equator of the current heating season. For our part, we have strengthened the resilience of thermal generation, as it bears the lion’s share of responsibility for balancing the power system during peak consumption,” summarized DTEK Energy CEO Ildar Saleev, as quoted in the press release.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The installed capacity in thermal power generation as of January 2022 was 13.3 GW). The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering and maintenance of mine equipment.
