Oschadbank to finance construction of energy storage facilities by KNESS
27 March 2025 10:56
Oschadbank has entered into a loan agreement with the KNESS group of energy companies for €9.6 million. These funds will be used to build energy storage facilities with a capacity of 30 MW. This was reported by the press service of Oschadbank, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The agreement also involves the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in terms of project risk sharing.
The energy storage systems will be manufactured by Hithium. It is a leading Chinese manufacturer of high-quality energy storage for municipal, commercial, and industrial applications.
What facilities are being built by the KNESS group of companies?
This is the construction and connection to the grid of 25 MW of energy storage facilities and 5 MW of secondary frequency control. Oschadbank is involved in financing this project. The planned commissioning date is October 2025.
In total, the KNESS group of companies is simultaneously implementing 7 projects for the construction of energy storage facilities in 3 regions of the country with a total capacity of 79 MW of frequency support reserve and 5 MW of automatic frequency restoration reserve. The planned date of commissioning is also October 2025.
What is known about the partners of the Agreement
KNESS is an international group of companies of Ukrainian origin that develops technologies and implements renewable energy projects in Ukraine and abroad. The group designs and builds renewable energy facilities for electricity companies and industrial enterprises, is engaged in trading, supply, electricity forecasting, comprehensive maintenance of electricity facilities, and has its own production of components.
KNESS develops innovative technologies in the renewable energy sector at its own R&D center. The company is also actively engaged in the development of wind farms, is developing a new business model of an aggregator and has its own balancing group.
In 2023, the company received the first license in Ukraine for the right to carry out energy storage activities. As of today, the KNESS team has implemented 1.3 GW of solar power plants in Ukraine, Poland and Latvia. 1.48 GW of electricity facilities are under comprehensive maintenance.
Oschadbank is a leading Ukrainian universal commercial bank, 100% owned by the state. Oschadbank is a leader in financing energy companies and municipalities, and holds leading positions in supporting the country’s agricultural sector, retail, heavy and defense industries.
How distributed generation is being developed in Ukraine
According to the Ministry of Energy, 967 MW of distributed generation was commissioned in 2024, and another 109 MW since the beginning of this year. These figures were given the day before at a government meeting dedicated to the development of distributed generation and regional energy supply.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal prioritized the development of wind energy and energy storage systems.
He also announced the completion of work on creating energy passports for the regions. According to the Prime Minister, 468 cogeneration units and 284 block-modular boiler houses with a total capacity of over 1.4 GW have already been delivered to the regions.
