Poland’s first Local Government Hydrogen Company has been established at the headquarters of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Its main shareholders include the city of Sanok and the Autosan company. The main objective of the company is to decarbonise the district heating system and produce green hydrogen.

Among other things, the project involves the modernisation of the district heating system in Sanok and the construction of new renewable and hydrogen-based sources of energy production. This will be one of the first such local government investments in heat decarbonisation in Poland.

“The environment is above all, clean air, and we Sanok are “the gateway to the Bieszczady” as a city which passes almost two million tourists through its ring road in this direction, we try to cooperate with this nature all the time”, said the mayor of Sanok, Tomasz Matuszewski.

Sanok, through the Self-Governing Hydrogen Company, wishes to invest in energy storage facilities and hydrogen buses of the Autosan brand. There are also plans to produce fuel for these vehicles, which will be done on-site. Scientific facilities and staff for the project are to be provided by the Jan Grodek State Higher School in Sanok.

“This is an important step in the spirit of change and the current energy challenges. It is also a great opportunity to create a competitive advantage for the city, the Bieszczady sub-region and the whole of Podkarpacie,” said Deputy Minister for Funds and Regional Policy Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, adding that the initiative fits perfectly into the trends of European economic policy. “Hydrogen has the potential to become one of the key fuels in the energy transition taking place in the European Union”, said Deputy Minister Jarosińska-Jedynak.

Adrian Andrzejewski