![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_Professor-Basok_01.jpg\")
Professor Basok has thanked Birmingham experts<\/p>\nAston University experts supported a revolutionary heat pump technology project in the fight back against Russia\u2019s continued targeting of the Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.Professor Basok has thanked Birmingham experts<\/p>\n
A top Ukrainian scientist has thanked experts in Birmingham for supporting heating technology to combat Russioa.<\/p>\n
Aston University experts supported a revolutionary heat pump technology project in the fight back against Russia\u2019s continued targeting of the Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Kyiv-based Professor Borys Basok is working with Aston University researchers on a new heat pump system specially designed to deal with Ukraine\u2019s extreme winters, where temperatures plummet as low as -21\u00b0C.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
The pioneering technology can easily be retrofitted to existing Soviet-style heating systems \u2013 giving Ukraine a green fuel solution to keep families warm.<\/p>\n
The Aston University led two-year project has received UK Government funding under the first round of InnovateUkraine, a \u00a316million clean energy competition run by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).<\/p>\n
The project supports Ukraine while generating growth and jobs in line with the Government\u2019s Plan for Change.<\/p>\n
Professor Basok said: \u201cThe heat pump we are developing with Aston University can help Ukraine fight back against Russia\u2019s weaponisation of energy.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1750916771_466_0_Professor-Basok_01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project offers a cheaper, more fuel-efficient way to heat our people during our extreme winters \u2013 to ensure they have the resilience to defend ourselves against the Russian invaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese heat pumps can play a crucial role in combating spiking energy prices to free up extra resources which can be better used for Ukraine\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis support from Aston University and the UK Government is also ensuring a brighter future for Ukraine by enabling us to rebuild our country in a greener way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FCDO-funded InnovateUkraine projects are using the best of British expertise to support Ukraine with its energy needs, as part of the 100 Year Partnership that Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Aston University has been working with Professor Basok and his team at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv.<\/p>\n
Professor Basok has remained in Ukraine – determined to see through the project to help his country\u2019s stand against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cThis project has helped me focus on something that is an important contribution to Ukraine because people need energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are under constant bombardment. We are feeling stressed, we are feeling fear, we are feeling indignation that this is happening to our country because people are dying every day.”<\/p>\n
Prof Basok also shed light on what it was like living in Ukraine amid the constant bombardment from Russia.<\/p>\n
He said “every Ukrainia”n now has lost someone to the war.<\/p>\n
He added: “I have five grandchildren. We were directly on the path the Russians took as the launched their assault on Kyiv following the invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy eldest daughter\u2019s family miraculously escaped through fields with crops to Poland after the area where they live was occupied by Russian troops.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy house is riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel damage after we found ourselves under constant artillery fire. There were Russian planes flying overhead.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family and I were not sleeping in our beds but in the corridor where the walls were strongest so that if a bomb hit, we had more chance of surviving.”<\/p>\n
Aston University researchers have helped adapt heat pump technology to generate four times more heat in winter than Ukraine\u2019s conventional systems.<\/p>\n
The heat pumps can also be powered by diesel generators during power blackouts meaning they could be used to provide more fuel-efficient warmth to Ukrainian soldiers and the estimated 3.7million internally displaced who have been forced to flee their homes during the conflict.<\/p>\n
Leading the project for Aston University is Reader Dr Muhammad Imran, of the Department of Mechanical, Biomedical and Design Engineering.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe have specifically designed a heat pump that suits the Ukrainian needs during wartime.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost Ukrainian buildings and infrastructure use old Soviet-style radiative heaters made of cast iron so we need a heat pump that can generate 70-75\u00b0C to offer users appropriate warmth during the country\u2019s severe winters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve created a plug and play solution which uses a quarter less power and can be directly connected to the existing radiators that are so prevalent in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Russians are continually targeting Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure, so we have also adapted our heat pump technology to work off diesel generators during power blackouts. It can run off diesel six times more efficiently and cheaper than conventional alternatives.”<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: \u201cThis government is proud to be harnessing cutting- edge innovations from businesses and universities right across the UK, to help Ukraine rebuild from Russia\u2019s illegal invasion greener and more resilient than ever before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe InnovateUkraine challenge fund is a powerful demonstration of the UK\u2019s unbreakable support for Ukraine as we work towards securing a just and lasting peace for the country against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 100 Year Partnership with Ukraine is a vital part of the UK Government\u2019s Plan for Change \u2013 helping boost security and growth in a sustainable way for both countries for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aston University experts supported a revolutionary heat pump technology project in the fight back against Russia\u2019s continued targeting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[41401,855,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-215102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-aston-university","9":"tag-birmingham","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114748088992018333","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}