Irish building materials company Kingspan has announced plans to exit Russia's market and invest €200m in a new Building Technology Campus in Ukraine.

Kingspan's Building Technology Campus in Ukraine will manufacture advanced insulation products and district heating solutions. These technologies are central to the urgent effort to decarbonise the global built environment, which is responsible for 39 per cent of all energy-related carbon emissions.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba has welcomed the decision from the global firm.

"Our goal is not solely renewal and rebuilding of the destruction caused by Russian aggression but also the creation of a completely new, modern and innovative economy leveraging leading urban development expertise and green technologies," said Kuleba.

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"For this reason, based on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's vision, we created the Recovery Plan for Ukraine, and Kingspan's project meets both the spirit and the goal of our plan. We invite the international business community to follow this example by withdrawing completely from Russia and relocating their businesses in Ukraine. This will benefit both: a company's standing and its long-term strategy."

Commenting from Kyiv, Gene Murtagh, CEO of Kingspan Group, added: "This investment sits at the crossroads of three crises: the climate crisis, the energy security crisis, and the crisis caused by the Russian war against Ukraine. The new Building Technology Campus we are planning will make positive contributions on all three fronts, supporting Ukraine as it rebuilds its economy, meeting demand across central and Eastern Europe for energy efficient buildings, and helping Europe to reduce reliance on oil and gas imports.

"The ambition is for the development process to begin immediately – subject to appropriate security conditions - with the facility expected to be fully complete within five years. Kingspan has appointed a project team to identify a suitable site, likely to be in the west of the country, and is liaising with the Ukrainian Government to this end."

Kingspan has 198 manufacturing facilities around the world and employs over 19,000 people globally.