A four-day training on industrial energy efficiency was held on 11-14 December at the Kropyvnytskyi Business Support Centre. The workshop was organised with the support of the EBRD within the framework of the EU4Business initiative, and was aimed at enhancing the skills of participants in the field of energy efficiency and raising the standards of the energy efficiency projects they are implementing.
Participants were able to gain new knowledge on energy efficiency and energy audits, to improve the forms and methods of their activity in the field, and to learn how to carry out energy audits in a form that will enable SMEs to prioritise energy efficiency measures and integrate them into their development plans.
The training was conducted by Costas Theophilactos, a leading energy efficiency expert with extensive experience in conducting trainings on energy efficiency in industry and conducting energy audits, energy expert Thomas Philippe, who specialises in energy efficiency in industry and has extensive training experience with the EBRD, and energy economist Astghine Pasoyan, who also has international experience in training.
The training combined theoretical, methodological and practical aspects, as well as analysis of various industries, including agriculture, cement production, food industry, glass and paper production, with a focus on practical tools, exercises, and case studies, giving participants the opportunity to apply the lessons learned in practice.
In particular, participants visited the production facilities of Drukmash-Centre LLC, where practical lessons on conducting energy audit were held, including a demonstration on portable devices. Participants were divided into groups and tasked with developing a feasibility study on energy efficiency measures.
In general, the training topics included energy systems and energy supply in the industry, cogeneration, estimation and calculation of greenhouse gas emissions, energy audits (methodology, procedure for conducting and reporting), assessment of capital investments and analysis of the cost effectiveness of certain energy efficiency measures, etc.
The Kropyvnytskyi Business Support Centre is part of the EU-funded Network of Business Support Centres, which aims to improve the competitiveness and bankability of Ukrainian SMEs through the provision of business advice and capacity building. It also supports BSOs in 15 regions of Ukraine in setting up a network of EU4Business Business Support Centres (BSCs). At least 30,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs benefit from the project
