The UK and Ukraine have launched the second round of InnovateUkraine with a £17 million investment from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to support 14 clean‑energy innovation projects. Announced at Rebuild Ukraine 2025 and published on 8 December 2025, the round targets immediate energy‑resilience needs and longer‑term climate objectives.
This phase sits alongside 12 projects funded in the first competition. Consortia of British, Ukrainian and international firms and research institutions will work on scalable solutions over 24 months from December 2025, with the UK Embassy in Kyiv framing the programme as practical delivery under the bilateral energy collaboration.
According to published competition materials, projects must start on or after 1 December 2025 and finish by 31 December 2027, with a maximum duration of 24 months and total eligible costs typically between £50,000 and £2 million. Each project includes a UK‑registered administrative lead and at least one Ukrainian partner, focusing on areas such as smart green grids, renewable generation and heat, green fuels, low‑carbon buildings, industrial decarbonisation and repurposing existing infrastructure.
Project summaries released by the UK government highlight a 1 MWh all‑iron redox‑flow battery for long‑duration storage; AI‑enabled microgrids for critical services; a cement‑kiln carbon‑capture demonstrator aiming to trap five tonnes of CO₂ per day; and ‘EnergyGo’ mobile power kits to support communities during blackouts. Other pilots include compressed‑air energy storage with phase‑change thermal storage, R290 heat pumps for buildings, plasma‑based waste‑to‑energy, on‑farm pelletising of agricultural residues, biomethane from crop residues and cover crops, and a modular off‑grid community hub in the Carpathians.
Delivery partners span UK universities such as Aston, Cranfield and Southampton, Ukrainian research bodies including institutes within the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and companies such as KNESS Group, Eco‑Optima and Frendt. Field deployments referenced in the materials include pilots in Zakarpattia and Ivano‑Frankivsk regions and a community hub at Tepla Gora in the Carpathian Mountains.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy has publicly welcomed InnovateUkraine as a vehicle for cooperation and a route to a more modern, decentralised energy system. UK officials likewise describe the programme as concrete action within the UK–Ukraine partnership to strengthen energy resilience and support climate goals.
The wider policy context is the UK–Ukraine 100‑Year Partnership. The declaration commits both countries to deepen research and innovation collaboration, including joint programmes and links via Horizon Europe-an approach that provides an institutional framework around which InnovateUkraine projects can share knowledge and scale successful technologies.
Funding for InnovateUkraine is provided through UK International Development and administered by the FCDO. The competition’s design prioritises near‑term demonstrations and rapid deployment so that hospitals, schools, utilities and local authorities can benefit from decentralised generation, storage and clean‑heat solutions during recovery.
Round 1, the government notes, focused on heating, biogas, waste recycling and battery storage, with many projects seeking additional finance to scale. Policy Wire analysis: if those projects secure follow‑on capital, Round 2 pilots could move more quickly from demonstration to pre‑commercial procurement as performance data emerges through 2026–2027.
Key dates now fixed include starts from December 2025 and completion by December 2027, giving a two‑year delivery window. The government has published the full Round 2 list, and the bilateral framework provides for ongoing senior‑level oversight through the annual UK–Ukraine Strategic Dialogue.