UABIO and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine strengthen cooperation — memorandum
On June 25, 2025, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine hosted a productive working meeting of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine members with the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitaliy Koval. The participants of the meeting focused on current issues of biogas and biomethane sector development and existing barriers in the industry. They plan to work together to remove them and strengthen Ukrainian market players. The meeting also included the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and UABIO. We are grateful to Mr. Minister and the Ministry’s team for a fruitful and open dialogue and involvement in the work of the Association.
Representatives of the Ministry, leading companies in the market, including members of the Association, and leading UABIO experts took part in person:
- Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister;
- Iryna Sakali, Head of the Minister’s Patronage Service;
- Oleksandr Polishchuk, Advisor to the Minister;
- Andriy Loboda, Advisor to the Minister;
- Ihor Rudyk, Deputy Head of the Patronage Service of the Minister;
- Liudmyla Khomichak, Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy in the Sphere of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Food Security – Head of the Department for Food Security and Excise Products;
- Georgii Geletukha, Chairman of the Board of UABIO;
- Kostiantyn Bohatov, co-owner of Salix Energy LLC;
- Danylo Pavlychenko, UABIO expert;
- Vitalii Kryvytskyi, Head of the Legal and Investment Support Group at MHP PrJSC;
- Petro Kucheruk, UABIO expert;
- Vitaliy Golovnya, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Epicenter K.
Also online were Sergiy Savchuk, Director of Investment and Business Development, VitAgro Group; Maksym Sysoiev, Dentons Law Firm; Siudek Dawid, ORLEN; Oleh Riabov, Director of Gopak LLC, Gals Agro Group; Adomas Audickas, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Bioenergy at MHP; Volodymyr Pylypiv, CEO of SMILAENERGOPROMTRANS LLC; Serhii Sytnikov, Vogelsang GMBH; Yurii Matveev, UABIO Supervisory Board Member; Semen Drahniev, Senior Consultant at SEC Biomass LLC; Anna Pastukh, UABIO legal expert.
The meeting was opened by Vitaliy Koval, who emphasized that the industry is united and has an association that really works. He also added that “the problems that arise are somewhere at the intersections of different ministries, and our cooperation should eliminate them. We will solve and help those that are in our area of activity. For those issues and solutions that will help farmers, I promise to assist and help organize meetings. Your success is the success of the country. This inspires us as citizens”.
In turn, Georgii Geletukha noted that the Association wants to strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, as the raw materials for biogas and biomethane production are mainly agricultural feedstock. We are looking for an ally with whom we can resolve all issues related to agricultural raw materials for biogas and biomethane production.
Vitaliy Koval added: “How do we see bioenergy in the context of agriculture? As a minister, I believe that what helps our farmers add value is our responsibility. Please contact us, we will be happy to help in any way we can”.
The course of the meeting
Georgii Geletukha, as Chairman of the Board, presented the current state and challenges faced by the sector. He spoke about the achievements and necessary further steps for development.
Current state of the sector
- 85 biogas plants with a total capacity of 140 MW of electricity.
- 4 biomethane plants with a production volume of 41 million m³/year.
- The total length of gas networks available for connecting biogas and biomethane projects is 33,400 kilometers.
- In February 2025, Ukraine started exporting biomethane to the EU.
The potential for biomethane production in Ukraine by 2050 is 21.8 billion m³/year. In addition, by 2050, Ukraine could potentially cover up to 20% of the EU’s biomethane demand (REPowerEU).
Main challenges
“Undoubtedly, the biomethane production sector in Ukraine is showing positive development dynamics. At the same time, the full development of the sector is constrained by a number of systemic barriers listed below. Comprehensive solutions at the legislative, regulatory and intergovernmental levels are needed to unlock the full potential of biomethane”.
- Tax barriers:
- Export duty (35%) on biomethane to countries outside the Energy Community (Switzerland, the UK).
- No exemption of biomethane from the CO₂ tax, as provided for in the EU.
- Technical barriers to connecting to grids:
- Strict requirements for higher calorific value.
- Delays in approving technical specifications.
- Problems with supply to the GDS in summer.
- Regulatory and market challenges:
- Lack of state policy on the use of biomethane as a motor fuel.
- Instability of payments from the State Enterprise “Guaranteed Buyer”.
- Low starting prices for biogas projects at auctions.
- Uncertainty about the inclusion of Ukraine’s GTS in the “interconnected gas system”, which is recognized as the only mass balance system in the EU.
- Limited access of Ukrainian biomethane to the German market.
- The necessity of institutional support:
- Adoption of laws on “energy plants,” electronic biofuel trading, and support for electricity production from biogas.
- Synchronization of the Ukrainian biomethane register with the EU Union Database.
Download a white paper on biomethane development in Ukraine (in Ukrainian)
Download presentation by Georgii Geletukha (in Ukrainian)
The position of UABIO members
Oleh Riabov: “We are currently analyzing the first results. We have sent a test batch of biomethane to Germany. The war has complicated the logistics routes, and we will definitely need a support program for Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions, which are far from the western border and contain 20 thousand hectares of our land. We are interested in deep agro-processing. The idea of agricultural surplus is also relevant. Increasing revenue per hectare of land”.
Vitaliy Golovnya: “We still have a range of issues, including the UDB. We have talked to EU representatives and they say that this is a political decision, but we need to get into the UDB to continue exporting biomethane”.
Kostiantyn Bohatov: “We are currently the only systemic company engaged in growing energy crops in Ukraine. I would like to draw attention to a key problem. We pay for everything at the market price, pay all taxes, and then compete with subsidized gas. The issue is in the gas market. The situation on the solid biofuel market is also difficult”.
Vitalii Kryvytskyi: “I would like to draw attention to projects such as bio-LNG. In particular, there is a problem with border crossing during exports”.
Petro Kucheruk: “The sector is developing more despite the obstacles than thanks to favorable conditions. Only when there is some kind of incentive does the sector make a leap forward. I am glad that public unions are cooperating with the ministries and asking, first of all, to remove existing barriers.
The Memorandum
This meeting is the beginning of even more systematic and consistent cooperation between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine. Therefore, the meeting resulted in the signing of a memorandum of cooperation. Vitaliy Koval and Georgii Geletukha signed the document.
We thank the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, in particular Minister Vitaliy Koval, for their openness to dialogue and constructive cooperation.
We continue to work actively and systematically on the development of the bioenergy sector and Ukraine’s integration into the European biomethane market!
