During his working visit to Zakarpattia region, Deputy Energy Minister Yaroslav Demchenkov met with First State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Peter Švec. The parties discussed prospective energy recovery projects within the framework of previous agreements between the Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko and the Minister of Economy of Slovakia Peter Dovhun.

First of all, Yaroslav Demchenkov thanked Slovakia for its solidarity with Ukraine.

"The assistance provided to energy companies and communities, as well as support for the integration of Ukrainian energy markets with European ones, is invaluable. There is a strong export and import potential between our countries, and we are working to expand energy corridors and create infrastructure projects of common interest in both the electricity and gas sectors, including renewable gases," the Deputy Minister said.

The parties also discussed opportunities to expand the activities of Slovak business in Zakarpattia region. In particular, they talked about expanding the potential of wind power generation. The topic is important because since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 200 companies from other regions of Ukraine have relocated to Zakarpattia. Accordingly, electricity consumption in the region is growing. Therefore, there is a need to focus on additional capacity, creating balancing systems, strengthening grids, implementing new infrastructure projects, and developing the production of equipment needed to accelerate the green transition.

Local government representatives who also participated in the meeting noted that communities in Zakarpattia region are already actively discussing plans to decentralise the energy system. Recently, one of the communities held public hearings, where the idea of creating a wind park to cover its own demand and electricity exports was positively received. The potential of bioenergy is also being explored.

Separately, during the meeting, Yaroslav Demchenkov invited Slovak partners to store gas in Ukrainian gas storage facilities and jointly explore options for transporting hydrogen to European markets in the future.