US to finance DTEK's largest energy storage project

The Board of Directors of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has approved financing for DTEK's electricity storage systems project with a total capacity of 200 MW and a storage capacity of 400 MWh. In DFC's official materials, the maximum debt financing amount is indicated at up to $185 million.

The decision was considered by the DFC Board of Directors on September 16. The project provides support for six operating Ukrainian companies managing DTEK's battery energy storage system complex.

The technological partner of the project is the American company Fluence Energy. It supplied equipment for Ukraine's largest industrial battery storage complex.

DFC notes that the financing will be directed to refinancing interim funds used during construction and commissioning of the systems. Thus, this is not about building a new complex from scratch: the storage systems already operate in the Ukrainian power system.

DTEK launched the complex in September 2025. It consists of six systems with capacities ranging from 20 to 50 MW each. Their combined capacity is 200 MW, and energy storage capacity is 400 MWh.

According to the company's estimates, this amount of stored electricity is enough to supply about 600,000 households with electricity for two hours.

DTEK previously estimated the project at approximately €125 million. Its construction took about six months — from March to August 2025, while implementation of similar projects typically takes significantly longer.

Storage systems allow quickly delivering electricity to the grid when a deficit arises and responding to frequency deviations. This is especially important for the Ukrainian power system, where a significant portion of flexible generation has been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks.

DFC indicates that the project should increase the resilience of the unified power system and reduce the likelihood of outages caused by imbalances between electricity production and consumption. The corporation has classified it as a project with high expected development impact.

In DFC's public materials, the maximum investment amount is indicated as up to $185 million. This is the maximum approved debt financing amount and does not mean that this entire sum will be provided at once.

The project also increases American participation in the restoration of Ukraine's energy sector: equipment for the storage systems was supplied by US-registered Fluence Energy.

Sources: DFC, DFC project public summary, DTEK