Feasibility Study Confirms Potential for Green Hydrogen from Western Ukraine

Western Ukraine holds enormous potential for the production of green, RFNBO-compliant hydrogen, according to a feasibility study by the H2EU+Store consortium. This project partnership was initiated by the Austrian energy company RAG Austria, and the feasibility study was conducted by the participating company Eco-Optima, the largest private wind and PV operator in Western Ukraine. The study examined all key areas of the hydrogen value chain—from production (upstream) to transport (midstream) and potential offtake (customer demand).

Particularly in the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, hydrogen could be produced sustainably and at competitive prices due to excellent wind and solar resources. Moreover, the existing transnational gas infrastructure through Slovakia to Central Europe provides ideal conditions for cost-efficient pipeline transport to industrial regions with corresponding demand.

As an eastern neighbor of the EU, Ukraine could play a major role in developing the Eastern Import Corridor of the European Hydrogen Backbone, making the region strategically important for the European energy transition. The analyzed industrial regions of Upper Austria and Southern Germany have sufficient demand potential to secure large-scale hydrogen projects in Western Ukraine with long-term offtake agreements.

The study forms the basis for establishing hydrogen production capacities in Western Ukraine and integrating them into the Eastern Corridor of the European Hydrogen Backbone. The project foresees a phased build-up of production and transport capacities, aiming to deliver around one million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2050.

Initial production, alongside secured hydrogen offtake, is essential for a successful hydrogen ramp-up in Western Ukraine. Technical planning for the first hydrogen production project for export to Austria and Southern Germany has already begun, explains Tatjana Weilert, Project Director Business Development at H2EU+Store. “The project already has land in Lviv Oblast to start implementation—in the first phase, it will produce approximately 9,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.”