The first district heating development project to be implemented under the Sweden-Ukraine District Heating (SUDH) program, managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco) and jointly financed with Sweden, has been agreed with the City of Mariupol. The modernization of the district heating system will provide more than 250 000 people in the southeast of Ukraine with first-of-its-kind, sustainable, energy-efficient, and reliable heating, as well as year-round domestic hot water.
Industrial production is the main industry in the region, with metallurgy being the largest sector. As a totally new aspect in Ukraine’s district heating sector, the local Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant will provide waste heat from production to the local district heating company MariupolTeploMerezha.
This recovered heat will be used to supply heat and hot water to the inhabitants of Mariupol with no additional fuel in the heating process. Currently, the district heating company supplies heat to some 130 000 households, over 1 800 residential buildings and 200 public buildings in the city.
This is a historic demonstration project that will significantly reduce the environmental impact of district heating and increase service quality through the use of waste heat and the implementation of energy-efficient technology.
Sweden has been supporting energy-efficiency modernisations related to district heating in Ukraine for more than ten years and since 2011 in cooperation with Nefco. It is very positive to see all the successful project implementations over the years, which are now enabling us to further build on Nordic experience within the SUDH programme, signing the first project with Mariupol commented Tobias Thyberg, Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine, during project signing in Mariupol.
Multi-part project
The total project investment is EUR 7.1 million, with EUR 5 million in loan financing from Nefco, EUR 1.5 million in grant funding from Sweden, and EUR 650 000 provided by the City of Mariupol. The project scope includes several investment components.
These include the linking of three district heating networks, recovery of waste heat from the Azovstal steel plant, installation of a flue gas condenser at one boiler house, installation of new energy-efficient equipment for improved boiler house operation and installation of new individual heating substations.
Mariupol is actively working to develop its municipal companies and improve the quality of services. Sustainable heat supply for families living in Mariupol is one of the city’s key priorities. This new investment project will support the development of the MariupolTeploMerezha district heating company to achieve a new level of efficiency and provide hundreds of thousands of inhabitants with sustainable heating. Our cooperation with Nefco, through the SUDH programme, is supporting the modernisation of our heating system and contributing to the reduction of natural gas consumption by the city, said Vadym Boychenko, Mariupol City Mayor, in connection with the signing of the agreements.
The implemented project will reduce heat and gas consumption and heat losses, with the first results expected from the heating season 2023-2024. Furthermore, it will have significant environmental and climate benefits, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 16 800 tonnes annually.
This district heating modernisation is a very important demonstration project for Ukraine’s district heating sector, and we are very happy to be able to support the development of the Mariupol district heating system through the SUDH programme. Today’s project signing marks an important moment for the modernisation of the district heating sector in the country, and it is an honour for Nefco to support this development both financially and with Nordic expertise, commented Ronny Nilsson, Senior Adviser and Facility Manager of SUDH at Nefco, in Mariupol.
Facts
About SUDH
The Sweden-Ukraine District Heating (SUDH) program was established by Nefco and Sweden in 2018 with a vision of supporting energy-efficient district heating in Ukraine that delivers high-quality services with a low environmental impact to its customers. SUDH offers to fund long-term sustainable projects that will have a significant positive impact on Ukrainian district heating systems based on Nordic experience.
