Pobuzhzhia Development LLC, a subsidiary of BGV Group and the company behind its flagship graphite project, has signed a memorandum of intent to cooperate with UkraineInvest, the State Institution for Investment Attraction and Support. This partnership marks another significant step in securing international financing and state support for large-scale investments in Ukraine’s mining sector, particularly in the exploration, production, and processing of critical raw materials (CRM).

Under the memorandum, UkraineInvest will provide information, consulting, and organizational support for the investment aspect of the BGV Graphite project. It will also facilitate effective collaboration between investors and government authorities.

Pobuzhzhia Development LLC is developing BGV Graphite, a large-scale project in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region focused on the Balakhiv graphite deposit. The project includes constructing a mining and processing plant at the deposit site, as well as a spherical graphite (SPG) production plant for lithium-ion battery materials. BGV Group has been working on the project for six years with the ambitious goal of integrating into the global and European battery supply chains. The company also plans to expand production capacity based on graphite market demand.

According to BGV, the project requires up to $450 million in investment, part of which has already been funded by the company’s founder, Gennadii Butkevych. As of early 2025, the company has successfully completed a reserve calculation for the deposit in line with international NI 43-101 standards, as well as a preliminary feasibility study (PFS) and pilot technological tests for the final product.

Since late 2024, Pobuzhzhia Development has been working with Metso (Finland) on basic engineering for an enrichment plant. The company is also designing a mining and enrichment complex, with construction set to begin in the first quarter of 2026. In 2024, laboratory and semi-industrial tests successfully demonstrated additional purification of graphite to battery-grade quality (99.99%) and the production of spherical graphite (SPG). From 2026, the company will initiate design work for the SPG production plant.