Armen Konrad Artwich, PKN Orlen’s board member, announced that in the coming weeks, the company will open the first hydrogen refueling station in Poland; such infrastructure will also be launched in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. By 2030, the company intends to invest over PLN 7 billion in hydrogen.

Artwich stressed that there is currently no turning back from the energy transition, which he believes will now accelerate significantly. He pointed out that building energy security should not assume replacing one dominant energy source with another. That is why the company relies on various solutions: small nuclear reactors, biofuels, renewable energy sources, and hydrogen.

“We are planning to launch a hydrogen refueling station in the coming months. We think not only about the Polish market but also about neighboring markets, such as the Czech Republic or Slovakia. In the coming weeks, we will open a hydrogen station in Krakow (…). It will be dedicated to servicing mainly public transport vehicles, but it will also be available to the public”, said Artwich during one of the panels of the Warsaw Climate Summit Togetair 2022.

Currently, Orlen has two hydrogen refueling stations in Germany. In 2022, four stations are planned to be launched: three in the Czech Republic and one in Poland – in Krakow. In 2023, it is planned to launch hydrogen stations in Poznań and Katowice. Each of them will have refueling options for cars and buses.

By 2030, the Polish fuel concern intends to allocate PLN 7.4 billion for investments that will allow the company to develop in the area of ​​low- and zero-emission hydrogen based on renewable energy sources and municipal waste processing technology. According to the announcements, Orlen will launch a total of over 100 generally accessible hydrogen refueling stations. About 57 of them will be built in Poland, about 26 in Slovakia, and about 28 in the Czech Republic.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński