Kingspan to build €200m tech campus in Ukraine

The global insulation and energy-efficient building solutions specialist Kingspan has announced it will construct a €200 million technology campus in Ukraine.

The company said its ambition is for development of the project to begin as soon as conditions relating to security concerns are met, with completion anticipated within five years.

Kingspan currently has a team liaising with the Ukrainian government to find a suitable site for the facility, which is likely to be in the west of the country.

The Building Technology Campus will manufacturer advanced insulation products, as well as heating technologies aimed at aiding the decarbonisation of the built environment.

Speaking from Kyiv, Gene Murtagh, CEO of Kingspan Group, said, “This investment sits at the crossroads of three crises: the climate crisis, the energy security crisis, and the crisis caused by the Russian war against Ukraine.

“The new Building Technology Campus we are planning will make positive contributions on all three fronts, supporting Ukraine as it rebuilds its economy, meeting demand across central and Eastern Europe for energy efficient buildings, and helping Europe to reduce reliance on oil and gas imports.”

The project is expected to create more than 600 jobs in the area, as well as aiding in the renewal and renovation of buildings damaged and destroyed during the ongoing conflict.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said, “Our goal is not solely renewal and rebuilding of the destruction caused by Russian aggression but also the creation of a completely new, modern and innovative economy leveraging leading urban development expertise and green technologies.”

“For this reason, based on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s vision, we created the Recovery Plan for Ukraine, and Kingspan’s project meets both the spirit and the goal of our plan. We invite the international business community to follow this example by withdrawing completely from Russia and relocating their businesses in Ukraine. This will benefit both: a company’s standing and its long-term strategy.”