Britain’s Octopus Energy Group and Ukrainian energy company, DTEK, are seeking to raise 100 million euros ($115 million) over the next three years to help fund up to 100 solar and battery projects in Ukraine, the companies said on Monday.
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022 around 70% of Ukraine’s thermal generation capacity has been destroyed, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said, creating the need for more power sources.
“Its about building back better,” he told the Octopus Tech summit in London launching the Resilient Independent Solar Energy initiative, known as RISE.
Under the scheme rooftop solar panels will be deployed, along with battery storage systems on Ukrainian business and public sector institutions.
Timchenko said smaller, decentralised energy projects were more resilient than large power generation sites.
The systems will use Octopus Energy Group’s AI-powered operating system, Kraken, which will help the companies manage their energy use and enable them to sell power back to the grid when they do not need it.
The companies said they hoped to attract finance from a mix of sources, including private equity, energy companies, UK and EU government agencies, but did not give any indication of whether they had already received interest.
