“Research and development in times of war: not only possible, but crucial!”

How can research contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction?

It can contribute a lot. The EU has included Ukraine in its research area and the country is part of the European research program Horizon Europe. Germany and Ukraine have filled the agreement on scientific cooperation, which has been in place for 30 years, with new content and will ceremonially sign it in Kyiv in October. It includes four so-called clusters of excellence between partner institutions in Ukraine and Germany. We believe that there is a need for more such clusters, where cooperation should be particularly intensified – especially in the area of energy system analysis and the electricity system, in the area of resilient local energy solutions and in education. Ukraine is a very open and innovative country with a very long research tradition. European experts repeatedly praise the fact that the transmission system operator, Ukrenergo, manages to maintain the power supply.

What are the most promising areas of research collaboration in the current situation?

For sad reasons, of course, cooperation that addresses the immediate future, immediate needs is of paramount importance. Let’s take the example of electricity: in Ukraine, electricity has to be switched off in large areas again and again, and blackouts are always to be expected. Decentralized as well as regional solutions are needed. This is exactly where Helmholtz comes in, together with other partners from Germany and abroad. Research in the field of energy and climate can make a decisive contribution to improving the security of supply in Ukraine. We at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin are strong in the fields of solar, batteries, hydrogen and system solutions and are therefore a good partner. One example of such cooperation is the “Green Deal Ukraina” project.

What is this project about?

“Green Deal Ukraina” started in 2023 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The project is about research and development in the field of energy and climate research with Ukraine. Together with our Ukrainian and Polish partners and governments, we are working on energy system modeling and studies. We are also training local, regional and national Ukrainian decision makers on energy solutions.