Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz announced the installation of its first electric charging station as part of the company’s WeEnergy pilot project aiming to test the viability of a large-scale entry into the market of electric charging infrastructure.
The installed chargers are compatible with all types of electric vehicles, with an average charging time of no more than 2.5 hours. Currently, the cost of service at the WeEnergy station is 4.5 Ukrainian hryvnias (0.15 euros) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), one of the lowest among the players in the Ukrainian market, reads the announcement. Naftogaz is implementing the pilot project in partnership with ElectroUA, a leading player in the development of charging station infrastructure for electric vehicles in the country.
By launching its first electric charging station, Naftogaz is exploring the possibility of a large-scale entry into the market of electric charging infrastructure in Ukraine. The commercial success of the pilot project could open up a new business segment for Naftogaz as the company considers the viability of building a nationwide electric charging network.
Naftogaz allocated a total of 400 million Ukrainian hryvnias (13.5 million euros) for sustainable programs from its budget in 2020, focusing on decarbonisation and renewable energy initiatives.
Ukraine was in the top five European countries by growth in the number of electric vehicles in the first half of 2019, according to market research firm IRS Group. From 2018 the government exempted electric vehicles from value-added tax and last year simplified the process of getting land and setting up charging stations. However, according to the report of European-Ukrainian Energy Agency the charging stations network in Ukraine is still underdeveloped.