Agricultural holding company Kernel has signed a €100 million loan agreement with the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) to finance the construction of its first wind energy project—a 94.5 MW wind farm with energy storage systems in central Ukraine.
“For Kernel, this is a logical continuation of our long-term strategy to develop renewable energy and strengthen the business’s energy resilience. A stable energy supply for our assets allows us to fulfill international contracts,” said Yevgen Osipov, CEO of the Ukrainian company, as quoted in a press release published on Tuesday.
It is noted that the financing is being provided under a special EIFO program to support investments in Ukraine, and the agreement was signed with the participation of Denmark’s Minister of Business and Competitiveness, Martin Lidegaard.
According to the press release, the wind farm will consist of 21 state-of-the-art wind turbines to be supplied and installed by the Danish company Vestas—one of the world’s leaders in the wind energy sector. The project also includes the installation of industrial energy storage systems, which will help balance electricity production during peak load hours.
“EIFO’s financing sends an important signal to the international investment market. This agreement confirms that even amid a full-scale war, Ukraine remains a country where large-scale private investment projects can be implemented,” Osipov added.
It is noted that the development of renewable energy is one of Kernel’s strategic priorities alongside its core agricultural business; in particular, the agricultural holding is installing solar panels at its grain elevators and building a 106-MW solar power plant in southern Ukraine. In late April of this year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided the agricultural holding with $45 million in financing for this solar power plant, the total cost of which is estimated at $86 million.
EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark) is Denmark’s national export and investment agency. Since the start of the war, EIFO has financed more than 30 projects in Ukraine. The Kernel project is the second wind energy project in Ukraine financed by EIFO and is part of broader support for the Ukrainian energy sector.
Vestas is one of the world’s leading companies in the wind energy sector, with over 203 GW of installed capacity worldwide. In Ukraine, Vestas has 888 MW of wind capacity that is either already installed or currently under construction.
Kernel Agricultural Holding is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, Ukraine’s largest grain exporter, the operator of an extensive network of logistics assets, and a leading producer of grains and oilseeds in Ukraine. It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. It is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
For the first nine months of fiscal year 2026 (beginning July 1, 2025), Kernel saw its net profit decline by 5% to $208 million, revenue increase by 0.4% to $3.092 billion, and EBITDA rise by 1% to $403 million.
Nibulon Joint Venture LLC invested $22.5 million in the modernization and digitization of agricultural production between 2023 and 2025, including securing EUR12.8 million in long-term financing from the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), the company’s press service reported.
As part of the modernization, the company upgraded its fleet of agricultural machinery, implemented digital solutions for managing production processes, and adopted a new soil cultivation model, which reduced the number of passes by machinery across the field—a practice that leads to soil compaction—and also lowered fuel consumption and production costs.
The company reported that as a result of the modernization, fuel consumption decreased by 10 liters per hectare, the use of crop protection products was reduced by up to 50%, seed usage was reduced by 10–20%, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) increased by 30%.
The report notes that the implemented measures led to a 50% increase in gross yield and a 65% increase in agricultural machinery productivity.
According to published data, the agricultural division’s EBITDA in 2025 amounted to $329/ha. At the same time, approximately 40% of the agricultural holding’s land bank is located in southern Ukraine, which has been hardest hit by climate change following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. The financial results also include $4.6 million in losses from sunflower crop failures due to drought.
The company also reported that, as part of its efforts to adapt to climate change, it is reviewing its crop rotation structure and testing alternative drought-resistant crops, including sorghum, chickpeas, lentils, and flax.
In addition, during the 2025/26 marketing year, the agricultural holding launched a pilot project for contract farming of corn and sunflowers on an area of approximately 100 hectares, and is also working with seed material for other specialty crops.
It is also noted that the company is developing an irrigation model for the southern regions of Ukraine, which involves irrigating approximately 1,000 hectares of agricultural land.
Currently, Nibulon’s agricultural division cultivates 52,000 hectares of land, comprises 14 branches across four clusters, and operates 41 units of farm equipment.
Prior to the war, Nibulon Joint Venture LLC cultivated 82,000 hectares of land across 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries worldwide. In 2021, the grain trader exported 5.64 million metric tons of agricultural products—the highest volume in its history. After the war began, the company was forced to relocate its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv. In addition to 23 grain elevator complexes, Nibulon has its own road and rail transport capabilities, as well as a fleet built at its own shipyard. During wartime, this fleet continues to provide river transport services.
The company is also actively developing its own humanitarian demining unit to restore safety on leased lands and assist Ukraine’s agricultural sector. Nibulon is a certified mine action operator.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, EIFO, INVESTMENT, MODERNIZATION, NIBULON
One of Ukraine’s largest grain market operators, Nibulon JV LLC (Mykolaiv), has received EUR12.8 million from the Export Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) to purchase 74 units of modern agricultural machinery, the grain trader’s press service reported on Facebook.
“We are grateful to our Danish partners who support Ukrainian business, which is now working in spite of the war, not because of it. We really need more and more such positive signals as convincing role models. This is the only way we will be able to rebuild Ukraine as soon as possible,” said Nibulon’s CFO Iryna Levkovska, CFO of Nibulon.
Peder Lundqvist, CEO of EIFO, expressed confidence that the financing will help the company increase grain yields by modernizing agricultural machinery and strengthen the company’s long-term financial position.
“At EIFO, we are proud to be able to make a small contribution to the enormous recovery work that awaits Ukraine and is now one of the most important things for its citizens. We look forward to future cooperation with Nibulon and other Ukrainian and Danish companies operating in Ukraine,” he said during the signing of the loan agreement in the Ministry of Finance’s bomb shelter during an air raid alert.
According to Nibulon, the financing was allocated as part of a social program of the Danish investment fund created to help Ukraine. Its launch was announced in May 2023 during the Ukrainian Investment Forum in Copenhagen. The program will finance projects involving the best Danish technologies and innovative solutions and will be available to both the public and private sectors.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, capacity for simultaneous storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
