Ukraine and Korea to develop green metallurgy and energy projects

The Korean Posco International Corporation will actively participate in projects to restore Ukraine. Future cooperation in both the private and public sectors was discussed during a meeting between First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Sobolev and Posco International Ukraine's management. Among the priority areas for future cooperation were green metallurgy and the development of modern energy infrastructure.

Representatives of the Korean company emphasized that they already have experience in implementing projects in Ukraine, particularly in the agricultural and energy sectors. But now they are looking for ways to participate more actively in the recovery, so establishing a dialogue with the Government to understand the priority needs is of great importance to them.

One of the nearest projects that Posco International Ukraine intends to implement in Ukraine is the construction of a combined heat and power plant in Odesa using RDF (Refuse-derived fuel). This initiative worth USD 106 million is to be implemented in cooperation with the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

"Last year, we signed a framework intergovernmental agreement with the Republic of Korea, under which Ukraine's economy will receive USD 2.1 billion in soft loans from the EDCF. And we are highly interested in maximizing the use of these funds for recovery projects in the near future. Under the current arrangements, these can only be public initiatives from the Unified Project Portfolio. However, in the future, we hope to expand cooperation with the Korean Government and to have the opportunity to attract concessional loans from the Fund for the private sector as well," said Oleksiy Sobolev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

One of the priority areas that Posco International plans to develop in Ukraine is green metallurgy. The company has more than twenty years of experience in this field and is considering both investments in the Ukrainian sector and technological and advisory assistance to Ukrainian steel businesses aimed at attracting experience, advanced technologies and access to global markets.

According to Oleksiy Sobolev, green metallurgy is one of the sectors outlined in the Ukraine Facility Plan, which is key to recovery and economic growth. Ukraine has large reserves of iron ore, experience in the metallurgical industry, and cheaper energy capacities than many countries. So there is potential to become a leading producer of clean steel, a vital component of Europe's decarbonization strategy. And the experience of the Republic of Korea can significantly contribute to the development of such production in Ukraine and the further replacement of russian steel exports with Ukrainian exports.

The parties agreed on further ongoing consultations between the Ministry of Economy and Korean businesses on the practical implementation of the green metallurgy project in Ukraine. A feasibility study of the project and discussions on cooperation with Ukrainian companies are ahead.