Polish Oil Concern (PKN) ORLEN will spend PLN 7.4 billion by 2030 on investments that will enable the company to develop producing low- and zero-emission hydrogen based on renewable energy sources and municipal waste processing technology. The Supervisory Board of PKN ORLEN has approved the group’s strategy for investment in hydrogen.
The Hydrogen Strategy defines the company’s goals until 2030, in four key areas: mobility, refinery and petrochemicals, research, development and innovation, and industry and energy.
By the end of this decade, 10 hydrogen hubs will be built. The first hub was launched in Trzebinia in 2021. Currently, it produces grey hydrogen for transport but ultimately it will produce low-emission hydrogen from renewable energy sources.
Drivers in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be able to use a network of over 100 hydrogen refueling stations including 57 in Poland, 28 in Slovakia, and 26 in the Czech Republic. Currently, the ORLEN Group already operates two hydrogen refueling stations in Germany. This year, the Concern will build three new stations in the Czech Republic and one in Poland, in Krakow. In 2023, it is planned to launch hydrogen stations in Poznań and Katowice.
The implemented projects will support the transformation of the ORLEN Group towards an emission-neutral multi-energy concern.
Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN emphasizes that the Company must maximize profits and dynamically develop new areas of its activity. They will be the driving force for transformation and building a multi-energy concern. This is the only way to effectively respond to the challenges faced by the fuel and energy sectors.
The head of Orlen confirmed that by 2030 the company will spend over PLN 7 billion on investments, allowing to produce nearly half of the hydrogen by the ORLEN Group as low and zero-emission hydrogen. In this way, it will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 million tonnes.
Daniel Obajtek adds that ORLEN has already strong competencies in the development of hydrogen technologies, supported by extensive experience. The implementation of the Hydrogen Strategy will place the Concern as a partner of the first choice in building a hydrogen economy in Central and Eastern Europe.
Adrian Andrzejewski