ORLEN Unipetrol, a Czech joint stock company owned by Polish ORLEN Group, has opened its second public hydrogen filling station in Záluží u Litvínova (north Czechia).
It has the same parameters as the hydrogen filling station that opened in Prague-Barrandov in March earlier this year.
“We are building publicly accessible and fully self-service hydrogen filling stations for cars, trucks and buses that operate non-stop and where filling is done similarly to standard refuelling,” said Tomáš Herink, member of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s Board of Directors.
“In line with our hydrogen strategy, ORLEN will invest 7.4 billion złotych [1.6 billion euros] in projects investments focused on the advancement of technology, distribution infrastructure and the production processes of zero and low-emission hydrogen,” said Daniel Obajtek, CEO and President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board. “Our aim is to generate up to 130,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year. By the end of this decade, we anticipate the establishment of over 100 hydrogen refuelling stations throughout Central Europe within the ORLEN network, catering to personal, public and freight transport needs, with nearly a third of these stations based in the Czech Republic. I’m pleased to report that we are steadfastly reaching our goal, as evidenced by the recent launch of yet another station in the Czech Republic.”
The new ORLEN Benzina hydrogen filling station is a full self-service site that is available to the public 24/7 and suitable for refuelling passenger cars, trucks and buses. It offers two delivery nozzles with different head shapes to fill in cars with a pressure of 700 bar and trucks and buses with 350 bar.
“This progress is particularly significant as it plays a crucial role in the Hydrogen Eagle project, which is designed to ensure the accessibility of hydrogen fuel across both North-South and East-West transport corridors. Building a network of hydrogen stations is a vital step in ORLEN’s mission to achieve climate neutrality of the Group, all the while fostering the energy transformation of our region,” Mr Obajtek added.
The price of hydrogen at ORLEN Benzina stations is set at 278 Czech crowns (11.71 euros) per kilogram. An average hydrogen-powered vehicle consumes around a kilogram of hydrogen per 100 kilometres.
Czechia’s Ministry of Transport supported the station’s construction via an “Operational Programme Transport 2” programme. “According to the current plan for clean mobility, there should be 12 hydrogen stations by 2025 and 40 stations by 2030 in the Czech Republic,” said Martin Kupka, Czech Minister of Transport.
