Schneider Electric has implemented a large-scale infrastructure project: 26 Ukrainian cities have received state-of-the-art equipment to improve the energy efficiency and operational reliability of their district heating systems.
Completing the project before the start of the 2025/2026 heating season allowed heating utilities to better prepare for peak loads. Thanks to the equipment provided, the cities were able to navigate the heating season more smoothly, reducing the risk of unscheduled outages and improving the overall efficiency of their systems.
As part of the project, Schneider Electric supplied control cabinets for pumps and blower mechanisms, equipped with state-of-the-art variable-frequency drives, to 26 cities in Ukraine across the Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Sumy, Poltava, and Kyiv regions.
A key element of the project was the implementation of variable-frequency drives to regulate the operation of pumping equipment at heat supply companies, which significantly improved the energy efficiency of the systems, reduced electricity consumption, optimized operating costs, and extended the service life of the equipment.
The solutions, based on Schneider Electric technologies, include fully equipped control cabinets for pumping equipment. The cabinets are protected against moisture and dust, allowing them to be installed directly in machine rooms, thereby reducing costs and simplifying installation.
The companies have gained tools for more flexible equipment management, reducing the load on the power grid, and improving the quality of heat supply services for consumers.
“This is not just about supplying equipment, but about a long-term investment in energy efficiency and the stability of heat supply in Ukraine. Already today, we are seeing how the implemented solutions are helping enterprises optimize energy consumption, improve system reliability, and lay the foundation for further modernization of the industry,” said Mykhailo Bubnov, CEO of Schneider Electric Ukraine.
The completed project serves as an example of collaboration aimed at implementing modern energy-efficient technologies and improving the operational efficiency of Ukraine’s utility companies.
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies that enhances efficiency and promotes sustainable development through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, increasing productivity, resilience, and environmental sustainability. The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, artificial intelligence-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY, EQUIPMENT, HEATING, MODERNIZATION, Schneider Electric
The ‘Kametstal’ plant, part of the “Metinvest” mining and metallurgical group and established at the facilities of the Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamenskoye, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), has reduced electricity consumption in its converter shop by 6 kWh per ton of steel produced, from 27.4 to 21.4 kWh/t, through measures to reduce equipment load during periods between smelting runs.
According to the company, in particular, the downtime for unloading converter exhaust fan rotors has been cut in half. Operations have been organized on a rotational basis for each of the two converters, allowing equipment not involved in the current melt to be shut down and minimizing idle time, thereby ensuring a systematic reduction in electricity consumption.
In addition, electricity consumption by circulation pumps No. 1 and No. 2—which supply water to the converter gas cooling boilers on both operating converters—has been reduced by 1.2 kWh/t. As part of the investment project, frequency converters and modern controllers from Schneider were installed on CN-1 and CN-2. This allows for the automatic unloading of pumping equipment in accordance with the steelmaking process, thereby minimizing its electricity consumption between converter purges.
In the post-converter steel processing department, electricity consumption was reduced by 4.6 kWh/t through the phased implementation of effective engineering solutions to optimize metal heating. At the same time, the algorithm for automatic control of the metal heating process in the “furnace-ladle” unit was refined and improved by selecting the optimal combination of heating stages and heating rates.
Kametsal was established on the basis of PJSC Dniprovsky Coke Chemical Plant (DKCHZ) and PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMP). It is part of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
Dragon Capital plans to invest over $3 million in 2026 to develop energy-efficient solutions at its facilities, with a focus on solar power plants, Alexander Shmorgun, Director of Facility Management at Dragon Capital PM, told Interfax-Ukraine.
He emphasized that the company continues to increase equipment capacity not only in view of the upcoming heating season.
“All of our shopping centers have gas heating, except for the Piramida shopping center, where heating is provided by electricity. During emergency power outages this winter—which totaled about 300 hours in January—the temperature at Piramida dropped to 14 degrees on the coldest day of the month. “We purchased additional generators with sufficient capacity to power the entire heating system of this shopping center,” he said on the sidelines of UCSC TALKS on Wednesday in Kyiv.
According to him, backup equipment is now necessary even in the summer: “We have also installed additional generators at other retail and office properties. The new equipment enables the cooling system to operate, ensuring a comfortable environment for tenants and visitors.”
Among Dragon Capital’s shopping centers, a 1.5 MW rooftop solar power plant has already been installed at the Victoria Gardens shopping center in Lviv, and preparations are underway to install a 2.5 MW solar power plant at the Victoria Gardens shopping center in Kyiv (formerly the Karavan Outlet shopping center). In the near future, a solar power plant project is planned for the Piramida shopping center with a capacity of just 275 kW, due to roof space limitations.
“We are relying on generators; they are expected to meet 100% of the demand. In winter, the solar power plant can generate about 10–15% of its capacity for the shopping center’s needs, which reduces the load on the generators. In summer, these capacities are projected to cover a significant portion of the shopping center’s needs,” Shmorgun said.
A similar concept of energy independence is being implemented in logistics complexes and office buildings. In total, the company plans to invest over $3 million in this area by 2026.
Currently, Dragon Capital PM manages 25 commercial real estate properties, including 12 office properties, 6 retail properties (the Victoria Gardens shopping centers in Lviv and Kyiv, the Smart Plaza Obolon, Piramida, and Aladdin shopping centers, as well as the McDonald’s location in Lviv), and 7 logistics complexes. The entire portfolio spans over 570,000 square meters, making the company one of the largest players in the real estate market in Ukraine.
Where is the greatest potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and which construction technologies can maximise the energy efficiency of buildings?
The construction and operation of buildings accounts for 39% of global CO2 emissions, of which 28% comes from operational emissions and the energy required for heating, cooling, and power supply, and 11% comes from the manufacture of materials and construction.
In the EU, only 25% of buildings are considered energy efficient, while in Ukraine the share of such buildings is about 5%. Consequently, the greatest potential for reducing carbon emissions lies in improving the energy efficiency of buildings and reducing the use of fossil fuels in the manufacture of building materials.
The use of energy-efficient building envelopes in combination with technologies such as heat pumps, renewable heat and electricity sources is the best way to create energy-independent buildings and achieve climate neutrality.
Rauta offers energy-efficient technologies using Ruukki products to create energy-efficient buildings.
Thanks to the special configuration of the joints and the presence of an EPDM seal in the sandwich panel locks, maximum airtightness of q50≤1 m3/(m2h) is achieved and energy consumption is reduced by up to 20% compared to conventional panels.
Highly efficient building envelopes made of Ruukki sandwich panels not only reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions and operating costs, but also provide greater comfort for people, enhance the company’s image, and increase the value of the building.
The use of Ruukki’s energy-efficient sandwich panels with special accessories and additional joint sealing can reduce a building’s energy consumption by up to 30%.
Green steel products
In 2023, Ruukki became the first company in the world to start producing sandwich panels and ventilated facade cladding from green steel, which is produced using hydrogen, electricity, and biogas instead of fossil fuels. The residual product of this production process is water, not carbon dioxide.
For facades and roofs that will be used in highly aggressive environments, Ruukki offers special Hiarc and Pural coatings, which provide excellent resistance to ultraviolet radiation, have increased resistance to dirt and scratches, and are also capable of reducing the heating temperature of the surface of enclosing structures.
Under the same conditions, energy-reflective coatings heat up 23% less than conventional coatings. This further reduces the amount of energy required to heat or cool rooms.
Rauta’s solution is a rooftop solar power plant that includes an enclosure made of Ruukki roof sandwich panels and modern monocrystalline solar panels with a set of special mounts.
Currently, the return on investment in RoofSolar for commercial buildings is 3.5-4 years.
Today, construction expertise is measured not in tons of concrete and steel, but in how little the construction and operation of buildings affect the environment. Improving construction technologies and using more energy-efficient materials and structures are essential steps for developers to take to preserve the planet.
The State of Serbia has signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to receive a loan of €50 million. The funds will be used to modernize centralized heating systems and improve their energy efficiency in various cities across the country.
The project aims to reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions, as well as operating costs for heat supply companies. The authorities emphasize that both institutions and ordinary consumers will feel the benefits.
As noted by Finance Minister Sinisa Mali, the signed agreement confirms Serbia’s strong commitment to the “green transition.” According to him, the project involves the reconstruction of heating substations, replacement of pipelines, installation of automation systems, and in some cases, the transition to environmentally friendly energy sources such as biomass or solar collectors.
Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic added that the implementation of the project will ensure stable and high-quality heat supply in winter and will also help reduce dependence on imported energy sources.
The project will be part of a broader program to modernize municipal utilities, which the EBRD has already supported in the past. According to preliminary estimates, the modernization will reduce energy consumption by 25-30% in the upgraded systems.
EBRD representatives said they consider Serbia a key partner in the Balkans and will continue to finance sustainable projects in the energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors.
Source: https://t.me/
The state-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) has granted Kryvyi Rih a seven-year loan of UAH 500 million to implement an energy conservation program in the city.
According to a statement posted on the bank’s website on Wednesday, the city will modernize its infrastructure, reduce heat loss, and improve energy efficiency, which should lower heating costs for residents.
According to the first deputy mayor of Kryvyi Rih, Yevhen Udod, a joint project will be implemented in the city, which provides for the modernization of the heating networks of the Kryvorizhteplomerezha municipal enterprise, the replacement of windows in the entrances of 199 residential buildings, and the reconstruction of premises for a new X-ray department at Hospital No. 1.
As specified to Interfax-Ukraine, the loan will be issued for a term of seven years, but other terms of the loan have not been disclosed.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, in April 2025, Ukrgasbank ranked fifth (UAH 220.0 billion or 5.9%) among 60 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets.
As reported, in the first quarter of this year, Ukrgasbank issued two loans to Kryvyi Rih for a total amount of UAH 105.5 million for a term of seven years with a grace period of 12 months. The interest rate on the loan of UAH 87.6 million is 14.5% per annum in the first year and, from the second year, a variable UIRD 12M +3% with annual review, but not exceeding 23%. The second loan of UAH 17.9 million is issued at an interest rate of 16% per annum for the first year, which from the second year is UIRD 12M + 3.62% with annual review, but also not exceeding 23%. It was explained that 3.62% is 16% minus the current UIRD 12M at 12.38%.
