Recent trip The Ukrainian delegation of clusters and regional administrations to Germany was prompted by our interest in the topic of sector transformation. Virtually every meeting with regional actors of the innovation ecosystem clearly showed that their focus and efforts are not aimed at supporting existing models or industries, but their change and transformation. That is, if we are talking about the German car industry, it is almost common in them to talk about Moblity sector, and where traditional boundaries change radically. And it’s not about ‘rebranding’, but really about a different vision and understanding of new segments that are growing rapidly. Next, we will look at this in detail, but drawing parallels with Ukraine, we have thought – Do these processes take place in Ukraine and at what point is our expert discourse, including in clusters and other business associations?

Consider these issues in detail.

Example of automotive industry

The automotive industry and its structure are usually clearly pushed into a well-known chain – there are manufacturers of components and components, spare parts – then car assembly. Given the number of these parts, the chain is really long and specific for each manufacturer. 

And what does the mobility sector look like now – German colleagues talk about such segments as 

• Smart Mobility – This is not just transport, but a smart system of movement of people and goods, where cars, infrastructure, services and data work together.
• EV – electric cars – This is a segment of electric transport, which changes not only the type of engine, but also the entire chain of production, service and consumption.
• Hydrogen – from production to infrastructure – a new energy-mobile circuit, covering the production of hydrogen, its storage, transportation and use in transport.
• Charging infrastructure – A network of charging stations, services and digital solutions, without which the mass development of electric mobility is simply impossible.
• Batteries – This is a separate sector around batteries: from development and production to second life, processing and return of materials to a new cycle.
• Autonomous (unmanned) systems – This is transport, which is increasingly relying not on the driver, but on sensors, algorithms, communication and digital environment.
• Software and AI – This is the ‘brain’ of the new mobility, which manages navigation, security, energy consumption, interaction with the user and the work of all connected systems.
• Urban mobility – This is a segment of solutions for cities, where the main thing is not a separate car, but a convenient, fast and combined movement by different modes of transport.
• Data platforms – is the digital basis of the new mobility, which collects, analyzes and exchanges data on traffic flows, user behavior and systems.
• Circular economy – This is an approach in which vehicles, components and materials are designed so that they can be repaired, reused and recycled.
• Energy systems – This is a segment at the junction of mobility and energy, where transport becomes part of wider energy networks, balancing and integration of renewable sources.

In other words, the position of the car in the mobility ecosystem is changing – it is not the end product of supply chain, but an element of a much wider ecosystem. This means 

• There are other segments – with their own borders and supply chain and their integration processes, and not necessarily in the same. For example, batteries or AI for unmanned systems are used in everything that ‘rides, crawls, floats or flies’ – and these products appear more and more.
• In terms of economics and business, it is critical to understand the boundaries and volumes of these new sectors. 

The essence of our discussions in Germany was that ‘someone‘ should see and uncover these new contours, rebuild partnerships and chains, create new ones, reskill SMEs, change policies and programs, tighten universities and launch new R&Ds.

Obviously, these processes change dramatically the boundaries of sectors, the roles of actors and technologies, change the infrastructure, introduce new regulatory rules and appear new business models.

In Germany, the key role in these changes belongs to state agencies – national and regional levels, as well as leading associations and clusters. For example, in the Baden-Württemberg region, we had a meeting with the agency e-mobil, But even at the level of the city of Stuttgart, there is a local agency that also a) fits its policy into national trends, b) creates its own segmentation (vision) in new sectors as creative industries. We talked about these examples in our report.  

So, if we now draw parallels with Ukraine, then there are many questions that should be found together to look for an answer

1. What sectors are there and how are we changing in our
2. What sectors (frames and models) – more not change, but it has long been necessary to start or we fall out and fall behind
3. Which institutions in our country are responsible for these transformations, or at least take care of them

In other words, it is worth understanding where we are keeping up with world trends, where we are behind – and this is the key to adjusting, or creating various sectoral or industry development programs 

Examples in the defense industry

A classic example of sectoral transformations is the Ukrainian sector of the defense industry. Literally during the 4 years of the war, we saw the emergence of a number of new segments as drones, EW, robotics, new air defense facilities, a separate segment of software and more. The ecosystem and infrastructure are becoming more and more clear around these segments –

• Dozens of associations and clusters appeared
• Training centers covering thousands of new employees and military personnel
• Lots of different laboratories, service centers, R&D teams and startups
• incubators and accelerators, venture and investment. funds, grant programs
• The level of localization has sharply increased – the components (even electronics and optics) are increasingly being produced in Ukraine.

These segments are growing before our eyes – analysts record multiple (X6) growth of production, new investments and job growth in the defense industry. Thus, we see how the technological military race leads not only to the growth of the entire industry, but also to the emergence of new technological sectors and ecosystems that are beginning to displace the old ones. And the fact that our dynamics of this innovative growth is the highest in the world is generally recognized both in Ukraine and abroad.

From the point of view of understanding these – truly transformational processes – and developing appropriate lessons for other industries and sectors, it is important to record 3 important points

1. The war became the biggest catalyst for change, but in addition to the defense industry, it is difficult to name the segments where these transformational processes were so dynamic.
2. These changes were not due to perfect and advanced state policies and programs, but often contrary to them (or, there were no policies). Dozens of volunteer foundations, associations, expert groups, private businesses have mobilized as much as possible with government agencies since 2022, and they have also changed a lot to the credit of the latter. The emergence of Brave 1 is nothing but the first sprout of a new state institution, a new model that has radically influenced the pace of innovation. Entering the arena of hundreds of new, private producers, and which today are the basis of these transformations – there are As a result of changes in state institutions, and today it is a big difference with Western ecosystems, where large and state-owned producers are still dominated – much less flexible and fast, compared to SMEs.
3. At the same time, from the point of view of global processes and the awakening of the military economies of Western allies and the countries that oppose us, this unique window of opportunity for Ukraine has its limits in time. If Ukraine does not start exporting and integrating into broader chains and ecosystems (allies), technologically leadership will sooner or later be lost, as our resources are disproportionate to other countries.

Thus, we see that the existence of strong institutions and policies is a key prerequisite for making this process of transformation stable and scalable. By the way, scaling is also a well-known weak point of Ukrainian innovations in the defense industry. And of course it is also about the weakness of our policies and their policies and programs.

However, the progress is obvious, the success of the defense industry and the Armed Forces are inspiring, and in UCA we have been asking ourselves and all stakeholders for some time several strategic questions

• How to transfer the pace (if you want – ‘spirit and drive of the defense industry’) to other segments – because such dynamics, dominated by innovative SMEs are needed by all traditional industries
• How to make transformational processes not spontaneous, but more conscious and manageable
• Which policies, programs, and instruments are most effective, and can they work in other fields.

Challenges and opportunities in other industries

The 2 main candidates for the transformation are the agro-food industry and energy. The first choice is obvious in terms of potential and available benefits. The second is in terms of crisis and necessary urgent changes.

New segments in the agro-food industry

In the agro-food sector, new sectors emerge when Ukraine ceases to be only a ‘producer of raw materials’ and begins to sell managed, standardized, branded and technologically enhanced products and services. In part, this is already evident in the approaches of U-Food, Greenhouse and other UCA clusters – they unite manufacturers in separate and new product chains, create common brands, provide certification advice, teach and help with exit to exports Markets, turning individual small producers into elements of a more complex ecosystem. 

What new sectors can arise

• Ingredients and Functional Products Sector: not just milk, grain or berries, but protein concentrates, fermented ingredients, bioactive components, baby and specialized nutrition. 
• Food Technologies and Processing Sector: Equipment, automation, robotics, packaging, cold chain, waste and by-products processing.
• Food-Tech Sector: Digital platforms for cooperation, supply/supply, contracting, yield forecasting, logistics and export sales.
• Agricultural Tracing and Compliance Sector: Digital traceability solutions, HACCP/Globalg.A.P./other standards, documentation of origin, quality control and export readiness.
• Bioeconomy Sector: biomaterials, bioenergy, biogas, bioethanol, feed and technical products from agricultural raw materials – this is no longer about ‘Agro’ in the old sense, but a separate industrial ecosystem.

We can already cite sprouts of change and examples in each of the sectors, but the question is the pace of change and growth. 

The main challenge is that Ukraine is still dominated by the logic of ‘grown – sold’, while the new sectors require logic ‘formed a chain – standardized – packaged – certified – marked – sold as a product of high value added ‘. 

The second challenge is scaling: without the infrastructure of common laboratories, certification centers, export consulting, processing hubs and cluster platforms, new niches remain point successes, not a sector. 

The third challenge is coordination between farmers, processors, logistics, science and the state, because it determines whether the new segment will become a separate market or remain a set of scattered initiatives.

Ukraine can systematically move from a ‘agrarian country’ to agro-food and bioeconomic platform, where not only production volumes are growing, but also new market segments, for example: ingredients for the food industry, niche functional products, export brands, service agrotechnologies, packaging and cold logistics. It is here that clusters can play the same role as volunteer funds, new networks, laboratories, R&D teams and accelerators in the defense industry: not just to unite participants, but to create a new market contour.

New segments in the energy sector

In this area, the window for new sectors is not just open – it must be immediately closed with new programs and policies, otherwise the market will be formed chaotically under the pressure of accidents, imports, shortages and local ‘patches’. 

In 2025–2026, the Ukrainian power system was already moving towards a decentralized model: with distributed generation, gas shunting generation, RES, energy storage systems and projects at the community, business and critical infrastructure.

What new sectors are already being formed or can be formed here

• The distributed generation sector: Small and medium-sized energy facilities for communities, businesses and critical infrastructure, including micro-networks and energy islands.
• Energy Storage sector: Battery systems – drives, integrators, service, dispatching, redundancy and balancing systems.
• The sector of cogeneration units: Gas turbine, gas-piston and cogeneration solutions for rapid coverage of deficits and peak loads.
• The sector of the hydrogen chain: production, transportation, storage, infrastructure, technical service and related components for hydrogen; Ukraine is already moving in the direction of the Central European hydrogen corridor.
• Energy Software Sector: Demand management, balancing, forecasting, digital platforms for networks, active consumers and aggregators.
• Sector of Services for Resistance (ENERGY RESILIENCE SERVICES): Engineering solutions for protection, fast recovery, modular deployment and reservation of power systems.

These new areas need to be developed now, as we are talking about a critical infrastructure – the basis of life for all other sectors. Deposition of systemic changes in this area means the preservation of lag in industry, logistics, agricultural production and municipal services. The second reason is that the war has made decentralization not desirable, but necessary – so distributed generation, storage and local energy nodes are not becoming a ‘green fashion’, but Resilience and Competitiveness Model. Third, the experience of the defense industry has shown that when a common language appears between the state, business, clusters and R&D, new segments are formed very quickly; Energy needs the same institutional speed, otherwise its transformation will be determined not by the strategy, but by emergency decisions.

Formation of institutional architecture

The defense industry, but also foreign experience shows three things that should be directly transferred in the industry to be transformed. 

The first is needed State, innovation agencies with appropriate powers and resources. Brave1 is a strong platform for innovators and startups, and the like are needed in other market segments. But we need to go even further – to give them a mandate of policy makers – the development of appropriate programs and policies of change, and this is done, for example, by German government agencies that manage change in their sectors.

The second one does not require general programs, but sectoral “growth corridors” For example, in the energy sector – separately for storage devices, separately for micronets, separately for flexible generation, separately for hydrogen, and so on (analogy with the OPC – system focus on the drone industry). Networks from clusters, universities, engineering centers and other steholders, because they create a critical mass of projects, personnel and localization, without which new sectors do not live. An analogue of the defense industry – the presence and growth of more than 10 clusters and associations, which are gradually beginning to coordinate and supplement Brave 1. 5 years ago, most of them were not on the market at all.

Practical steps – for policy makers, experts and clusters4regions

At present, UCA has a very favorable environment for the formation and growth of these points of sectoral change. We have a number of initiatives from new and mature clusters, formed certain circle experts at the regional and sectoral levels, established relations with many policies-makers. Here are some of the most interesting with the prospect of scaling

• Clusters4regions launches or amplifies several prospective cluster initiatives with good potential for scaling new sectors –
  • in the agro-sector – modern greenhouses (Greenhouse in Podillya), bioenergy (agricultural cluster in Ternopil region), hemp processing (Sumy region)
  • Water cluster (“Ladyzhyn Sea” in Vinnytsia region)
  • rehabilitation services (Remet, Vinnytsia)
• There are also 14 project applications generated here, among which we will highlight 5 similar ones – we are talking about New prototyping centers. This indicates a mass need for all regions and industries – Ukrainian sectors are critically short of modern laboratories and collective access prototyping centers (to support SMEs). And in UCA, we consider this barrier as one of the greatest innovations in the development of innovations.
• Several partner EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hubs) managed by clusters (first of all, Khmelnytsky, Kyiv and Kharkiv) already have funding from the European Commission and a mandate for Creating new services for SMEs on their digitalization path. 

Thus, we see how the idea that we have been carrying since 2018-19 in UCA (before that in APPAU) is being implemented – in the basis of regional and sectoral innovation ecosystems should be Innovative clusters and Digital innovation hubs. Clusters4regions also clearly showed that our clusters follow European positioning and the course – more than half of all new initiatives and projects are about innovations. And from the point of view of the politician, this proves that clusters can really become tools not only of industrial but also of innovation policy. 

Given also a significantly improved relationship with the OVA – ARR of many regions, we have now come to the key point – Will we be able to coordinate and strengthen existing initiatives, including through the implementation of regional programs, to begin a large-scale transformation of our regional and sectoral ecosystems?

A number of activities planned in the summer of 2026 in our community will provide more than enough opportunities to develop new ideas, form new partnerships and launch new project initiatives. 

It is important to remember the 3 key principles of transformations 

• A change of industry framework, a new vision and the formation of new sectors – a ‘must be’ today (tomorrow – it will be too late). In other words, in each region we should not ‘cement’ or cling to the old – but look where there are new growth points.
• Consolidation, coordination and cooperation – ‘above all’ (fragmentation and internal competition – our main internal enemy). Without this, it will even be impossible to even make a decent analyst for new sectors or develop common priorities.
• Support at this stage of the formation of new segments of the most active clusters and real experts is the main factor of success.

UCA is open to such discussions and initiatives not only within 6 Clusters4Regios regions for all our partners – in particular, we plan some activities this summer in Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kyiv and Kyiv region.

We occasionally thank foreign partners – most of the theses in this reflection are inspired by our mission to Germany.