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US DFC Approves €85 Million Loan to Ukraine's DTEK for Battery Storage Expansion
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has approved an €85 million (approximately $97.5 million) loan to DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, to expand its battery storage capacity. The financing, announced Wednesday, represents the DFC's largest loan to Ukraine’s energy sector since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Bolstering Ukraine's Energy Grid
The loan is designated to help DTEK build additional battery storage systems, which are critical for stabilizing Ukraine's power grid. The country's energy infrastructure has been persistently targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks for over four years, according to the report.
"This €85 million loan means we can release more funds to build more battery storage and other projects," said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK. He added that the financing serves as a crucial signal to the market, stating, "They have made an assessment of the risk, understand how to manage it, and are saying that private investors should follow."
Context and Existing Infrastructure
DTEK, owned by Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Holdings, has already made significant investments in grid stability. Last year, the company launched Ukraine’s largest battery storage facility in partnership with U.S.-based technology company Fluence.
AdKey details of DTEK's existing battery storage operations include:
- Six systems are currently connected to the grid in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
- The facilities have a total capacity to store 400 megawatt-hours of electricity.
- This is sufficient to power approximately 600,000 Ukrainian households for two hours.
A Signal to Private Investors
This investment by a U.S. government agency is seen as a move to de-risk private investment in Ukraine's critical sectors. DFC Chief Executive Ben Black said in a statement that the U.S. President had empowered the DFC to proceed with the investment, which will support critical infrastructure in the country.
The loan underscores a strategic effort to ensure the resilience of Ukraine's energy supply amid the ongoing conflict and to encourage further private capital to enter the market.
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