At the TEB Forum 2026 in Vienna, Hydrogen Ukraine CEO Iaroslav Kryl presented the H2U Odesa renewable hydrogen project – an initiative that has quietly moved through years of technical development and is now demonstrating how Ukrainian projects can attract international attention and collaboration.

Developed through the InnovateUkraine programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and delivered together with AB5 Consulting, the project is exploring not only renewable hydrogen production, but also how hydrogen can be integrated into wider industrial and energy value chains connecting Ukraine with European markets.

As part of the InnovateUkraine panel, Iaroslav shared the project’s development experience and discussed a question increasingly relevant across Europe: how do innovative energy projects move beyond promising concepts and become real infrastructure capable of attracting investment, creating jobs, and strengthening energy resilience?

The discussion highlighted something often overlooked in conversations about hydrogen. Success is not defined by electrolysers alone. It depends on infrastructure, market access, regulation, financing, and the ability to build partnerships across borders. These are exactly the challenges Ukrainian developers are working to solve today.

The H2U Odesa project is one example of how international cooperation can help accelerate this process – bringing together expertise from the UK and Ukraine to develop practical solutions for the future energy system.

A valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and demonstrate that Ukraine’s role in the energy transition is already taking shape through real projects, real partnerships, and real progress.