Critical Energy Resilience for Ukraine: How a British Grant Helps Build Ukraine’s Energy Resilience

“Blackouts and the lack of stable electricity put people in a situation where normal life was impossible. This project adds resilience to the community, helps retain people, and opens prospects for recovery,” says Oleksii Anhurets, Head of the NGO Center for Security and Recovery.

It was here that the Helios Strategia team, together with British and Ukrainian partners, decided to create an autonomous energy system for the local outpatient clinic and a children’s home — two key facilities on which the health, safety, and well-being of residents depend.

InnovateUkraine Grant: A Turning Point for Community Energy Resilience

The project became possible thanks to grant funding from the United Kingdom under the following program:

Grant Provider:

• InnovateUkraine — an FCDO program supporting the deployment of resilient and low-carbon technologies.

The funding made it possible to:

• modernize energy systems at critically important facilities;
• install modern solar power plants with battery storage;
• implement the innovative Swanbarton EMS system for energy management and optimization.

This is one of the first projects in Ukraine to combine social infrastructure, renewable energy sources, and modern energy management operating locally — without transferring energy data beyond the community.

The Team Behind the Project

CERU Project Partners:

• Helios Strategia — technical design and implementation;
• Energypro Impact Limited — overall coordination;
• Swanbarton Limited — development and implementation of the EMS;
• Center for Security and Recovery — cooperation with local authorities and the community.

“We aimed to help people at a time when blackouts had become part of everyday life. Thanks to the InnovateUkraine grant, we were able to create a system that truly changes the situation,” notes Olga Michelot, Co-founder of Helios Strategia.

What Was Built: The Technical Foundation of Resilience

Within the CERU project, three key solutions were implemented:

1. A solar power plant with battery storage for the outpatient clinic;
2. A separate autonomous station for the small group children’s home;
3. The Swanbarton EMS, which provides:

• energy distribution,
• consumption forecasting,
• battery operation optimization,
• guaranteed autonomous operation.

Benefits for Social Facilities

• uninterrupted power supply during blackouts;
• stable operation of medical equipment — ECG machines, monitors, vaccine refrigerators;
• autonomy for up to 6 hours during a complete power outage;
• reduced electricity costs.

“The slightest voltage fluctuation can ruin a vaccine, but now we are protected. This is a matter of patients’ lives and health,” says nurse Snizhana Nazarchuk.

For the children’s home, this means warmth, light, and the ability to cook food even when the entire village is plunged into darkness.

Strategic Importance: A Scalable Solution

CERU is not just a one-off support point — it demonstrates what a model of local energy resilience can look like in conditions of war and recovery.

Helios Strategia and its partners plan to scale similar projects to other communities, while simultaneously working on larger energy systems that shape the country’s overall energy independence.

A Grant That Changes Lives

Vakulove is a small village, but its example proves that modern technologies and international support can transform everyday life during wartime.

The CERU project demonstrates that the future of Ukraine’s energy sector will be built on:

• responsible international cooperation,
• local energy independence,
• technological innovation.

This is how the new energy architecture of a resilient Ukraine is being formed.