Two hemp-focused projects in Ukraine were named to receive Climate Innovation Vouchers, a European Union program that supports green technologies with grant funding.
The Ma’Ryzhany Hemp Company and Ukrainian Hemp (First Hemp Corporation) were selected in the final wave of the initiative, which gave a total of €384,241 to 11 Ukrainian enterprises. The vouchers can be up to $50,000; individual amounts awarded were not announced.
The grants cover up to 75 percent of costs for services such as certification, intellectual property protection, engineering, and production preparation for companies developing climate-friendly solutions.
Recipients
Ma’Rizhany Hemp Company is developing a major hemp cultivation and processing hub in the Zhytomyr region. The plant focuses on long technical fibers for textiles and shorter fibers for nonwovens such as insulation and paper.
Built on the grounds of a former flax mill, the project represents a $25 million investment to date and could eventually reach $100 million, supporting hundreds of local jobs. The company positions hemp as a stable alternative to grain exports, which have been complicated by trade tensions with neighboring EU countries.
Advancing modernization
Ukrainian Hemp (UH) (First Hemp Corporation), based in Cherkasy Oblast, UH promotes technological modernization of Ukraine’s hemp sector, integrating advanced processing methods to serve textile, construction, and industrial markets.
The company opened a new decortication facility more than a year after the Russian invasion, and has developed a two-tier harvester designed for tall hemp varieties.
Another funded project relevant to hemp agriculture is Carbonex Ukraine, which supports farmers in generating carbon credits through audits, emissions reduction calculations, and verification under international standards. Other winners span fields such as energy storage, ventilation, hydrogen, and eco-materials, reflecting the program’s broad climate innovation mandate.
About the program
The Climate Innovation Vouchers help close critical commercialization gaps for emerging technologies by funding services such as patenting, certification, and industrial design.
The voucher scheme is part of the Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) program of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), supported by the European Union’s EU4CLIMATE initiative. The scheme has been implemented in Ukraine since 2017 by the Kyiv-based NGO Greencubator, which helps cleantech startups access funding, expertise, and international markets.
FINTECC aims to accelerate the transfer of climate technologies to the private sector, while EU4CLIMATE supports partner countries in advancing climate policy and low-emission development.
Working through war
Over eight years, more than 50 Ukrainian companies have received support totaling €2 million, with the 2025 awards marking the final wave of the program’s second phase. A ceremony in Kyiv featured discussions with government, industry, and European partners on how Ukraine’s innovators are shaping Europe’s climate future even during wartime conditions.
Despite the war, Ukraine’s hemp sector has continued to move forward, with national hemp acreage slowly expanding—from roughly 1,500 hectares in 2023 to an estimated 2,000 hectares in 2024.
