Ukraine and Austria Discussed the Implementation of Guarantees of Origin and Connection to the Union Database

 he State Agency on Energy Efficiency of Ukraine together with the Austrian Energy Agency held a webinar “Implementation of Guarantees of Origin in Austria and the Current State of the Union Database (UDB) Accounting System”

The Union Database (UDB) is an electronic database established by the European Commission under Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (“RED II”). It is designed to ensure transparency and full traceability of sustainable production and trade in biofuels and feedstock, as well as to prevent cases of double counting.

In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency, Viktor Bilko, emphasized that Ukraine is actively working on creating and connecting the national biomethane registry to the European Union Database. Consultations with the European Commission have already taken place, but a number of legal and procedural issues remain, the key one being the recognition of Ukrainian guarantees of origin in the EU.

Representatives of the Agency also underlined the importance of introducing transparent mechanisms for verifying biofuels against sustainability criteria. A draft Government resolution has already been prepared to implement EU Regulation 2022/996, which should bring Ukraine’s biofuel market closer to European sustainability standards.

The key issues remain: ensuring data transparency, preventing double counting, harmonizing with EU Member States’ registries and the UDB, as well as simultaneously fostering domestic demand for biomethane in Ukraine.

Participants noted that joining the UDB integration process at its formative stage will allow Ukraine to integrate more quickly into the European energy space and contribute to the EU’s decarbonization goals.

The Austrian side shared its own experience with the registry, which covers all types of renewable energy and gases, including hydrogen. For Ukraine, these practices are extremely valuable in the process of building its own system of guarantees of origin for biomethane.

This marks another step in strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and Austria. The knowledge and tools gained by Ukrainian experts will help establish a reliable guarantees of origin system, which will be the key to opening the European market for biomethane and fostering the growth of the renewable energy sector within the country.

The parties agreed on further joint work. We sincerely thank the Austrian Energy Agency for its cooperation.