Photos from the International Energy Forum

Energy security, renewable energy development, investment attraction and innovation – these challenges face every Ukrainian region today. However, it is increasingly clear that they can be responded to effectively only through cooperation. That is why the cluster approach becomes one of the key tools of regional development, which allows theto unite business, science, power and communities around common goals.

Ternopil region today demonstrates just such an approach. An energy cluster initiative is being actively formed in the region, which has the potential to become a new point of economic growth and a platform for the development of the modern energy ecosystem.

From Cluster Policy to Regional Decisions

In recent years, the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance has been systematically working on the development of the cluster movement in Ukraine. Along with the formation of national cluster policy and cluster support tools at the state level, the support of regional cluster initiatives has become an important area of activity.

That is why the Clusters4regions project is being implemented within the Swiss-Ukrainian UCORD project and aimed at the development of cluster ecosystems in six pilot regions of Ukraine, including Ternopil region.

Within the framework of the project, the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance has conducted a comprehensive training program for regional teams and future cluster managers who have gained modern knowledge of the creation, management and development of cluster organizations. At the same time, each regional cluster initiative has received mentoring support from practitioners who have successful experience in cluster development.

Olesya Khaletska, the executive director of the Lviv Medical Business Cluster and an expert in the field of cluster development, who has practical experience in creating and developing a cluster organization thatIt unites dozens of companies, educational and scientific institutions and actively cooperates with the regional authorities, has become an important resource for the formation of a cluster initiative in Ternopil region.

Forum as a platform for launching cooperation

An important stage in the formation of the business core of the cluster initiative was the II International Energy Forum ‘Clean Energy: Global Security and Innovation’, which took place on June 4, 2026 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Western Ukrainian National University.

It was during the forum that representatives of business, research institutions, authorities and the expert environment were gathered at one table to discuss the prospects of creating an energy cluster.

In addition to participating in a panel discussion on the role of clusters in the development of the regional economy, Olesya Khaletska held a facilitated working session on the formation of the future cluster. Participants worked to identify common interests, discussed key challenges of the energy sector, promising areas of cooperation and opportunities for joint projects.

It was especially important that the conversation was not theoretical, but practical. Business representatives discussed the specific needs of the industry, opportunities for cooperation, joint overcoming of problematic issues and advocacy of interests, investment attraction and implementation of innovative solutions.

from interest to joint action

One of the key results of the work was the formation of a circle of active participants who expressed their readiness to join the creation of the energy cluster of Ternopil region.

This is an extremely important stage, because successful clusters do not start with formal documents, but with a community of like-minded people who are aware of the value of cooperation and are willing to invest their time and resources in joint development.

An important role in the formation of this community is played by Western Ukrainian National University and Leonid Bytsyura, who actively develops the energy sector and is one of the drivers of the cluster initiative in the region.

Next steps

The formation of the cluster does not end with a forum or one working meeting. Ahead – systematic work on building partnerships, attracting new participants, identifying priority areas and preparing the first joint projects.

The next facilitation and working sessions with the participation of business and other stakeholders have already been planned. Their result should be the formation of the cluster core, the development of a road map of development and preparation for the official launch of the cluster organization.

The experience of Ternopil region demonstrates an important pattern: today energy security depends not only on technologies or financial resources. It largely depends on the ability of people, organizations and institutionsto unite around a common goal.

That is why the cluster approach is not just a tool of economic development, but a mechanism for forming sustainable regional ecosystems that can meet the challenges of the present and create opportunities for the future. And Ternopil region is already taking the first confident steps along the way.

Author: Olesya Khaletska, Executive Director of the Lviv Cluster of Medical Business