Orlen Group’s Unipetrol is building a heat recovery installation at its production plant in Kralupy on the Vltava River. The investment, worth approximately CZK 0.5bn (about PLN 100 mln), will enable the refinery to improve its energy efficiency.

“The investment will use a unique polymer heat exchanger technology, which is Orlen Unipetrol’s proprietary solution. Research and development in the field of green technologies will be an important element of the company’s development in the coming years, contributing to the realisation of the Group’s strategic goals and aspirations”, said Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek.

The investment involves the construction of an installation for the recovery of heat from flue gases generated, among other things, during the crude oil distillation process. Orlen Unipetrol will use this energy to reheat boiler water, which is used to produce steam that drives the most important equipment of the catalytic cracking unit at the refinery in Kralupy. This will save up to 5 MW of thermal energy per hour.

Orlen Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It has been part of the Orlen Group since 2005. It processes crude oil and produces, distributes and sells automotive fuels and petrochemical products – in particular plastics and fertilisers. Orlen Unipetrol owns the Orlen fuel station network in the Czech Republic and the Orlen network in Slovakia and Hungary.

The Orlen Group operates refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, has retail operations in Central Europe, mining operations in Poland, Norway, Canada and Pakistan, as well as energy production – including from renewable sources – and natural gas distribution. Improving energy efficiency is one of Orlen Unipetrol’s strategic objectives and a necessary step towards the Orlen Group achieving carbon neutrality in 2050.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński