Polish state oil refiner PKN ORLEN will invest in low- and zero-carbon hydrogen development projects based on renewable energy sources and municipal waste conversion technology.

It plans to spend PLN 7.4 billion ($1.9 billion) by 2030, Kallanish notes.

The ORLEN Hydrogen Strategy will be implemented in four key areas: mobility, refining and petrochemicals, research and development, and industry and energy. As a result, 10 hydrogen hubs will be developed by the end of the decade, with motorists in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia provided with access to a network of over 100 hydrogen refuelling stations.

By the end of the decade, the ORLEN aims to install approximately 0.5 gigawatts of new hydrogen production capacity using renewable energy sources and municipal waste conversion.

The hubs will produce some 60,000 tonnes of low- and zero-carbon hydrogen per year. By using carbon storage and utilisation technology (CCS/CCU) the group will be able to lower the carbon intensity of a further 120,000 t of hydrogen produced by its facilities in Plock. As a result of these projects, almost half of the hydrogen used by the enterprise should come from zero- or low-carbon sources in 2030, the enterprise claims.

“We need to maximise profits and dynamically grow our new business lines to drive our transformation into a multi-utility group and is the only way we can effectively respond to the challenges facing the fuel and energy sector,” said ORLEN’s president Daniel Obajtek. “This would help us reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 million t/year. The implementation of our hydrogen strategy will position us as a partner of choice in building a hydrogen economy in Central and Eastern Europe.”

The company will aslo buil facilities to produce automotive grade hydrogen to supply refuelling stations. It targets production of 19,000 t or more of hydrogen for transport applications, enough to power some 1,000 buses and 160 trains a year.