Trigeneration: producing cooling from waste heat of a cogeneration unit — a winning project of the 100 gREen AWARD-2025

The project “Trigeneration: producing cooling not from electricity, but from the waste heat of a cogeneration unit”became one of the winners of the 100 gREen AWARD-2025 among the best green transformation projects in the field of bioenergy.

The technology was implemented with the participation of members of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine — the company EnergyCase and Volodymyr Maistryshyn, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UABIO.

About the project

For almost a year, an industrial refrigeration machine has been operating at one of Ukraine’s dairy plants, producing cooling not from electricity, but from the waste heat of a cogeneration unit.

For Ukraine, this is not just an interesting engineering solution, but a practical example of how a business can simultaneously improve energy efficiency, reduce resource consumption, and strengthen the energy resilience of its operations. In current conditions, when autonomy, stability, and predictability of energy supply are critical for businesses, such technologies are becoming especially valuable.

Operating results

According to the operating results, gas savings exceed 40%.

If the plant were cooled using conventional electric chillers, production needs would require about 1.4 MW of electrical capacity. By using waste heat from cogeneration, 850 kW of CHP capacity is sufficient instead.

The absorption chiller operates on recovered heat and fully covers the plant’s technological cooling demand. As a result, 100% of industrial cooling is provided without electric compressors.

It is also important to highlight the reliability of the solution under real Ukrainian conditions. The system successfully withstood periods of deep blackouts and prolonged frosts down to -15/-20°C, even though the cooling tower operates with an open loop. At the same time, the system ran without аварійних сценаріїв and with minimal personnel intervention.

Another significant indicator is that the customer is currently considering purchasing two more such machines to provide cooling for sanatorium complexes. This demonstrates not only the technical effectiveness of the solution, but also a high level of trust in both the technology and the team behind it.

Project significance

This case shows that bioenergy and related technologies can go far beyond electricity or heat generation alone. They are capable of delivering integrated energy solutions for industry, reducing operating costs, and increasing resilience to energy risks.

These are exactly the kinds of projects that are shaping a new quality of green transformation in Ukraine — practical, economically justified, and ready for scaling.

The winners were selected by the Board of Global 100% RE Ukraine with the participation of representatives of профильних green energy associations, including the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine. In each category, the best implemented projects were identified, and the award will be presented to the teams behind their implementation.

100 gREen AWARD-2025 is a recognition of those who are already truly changing Ukraine’s energy sector.