Poland’s oil refiner and petrol retailer PKN ORLEN has commenced the process to select a contractor for its hydrogen refuelling stations, with the first stations serving buses and passenger cars to be deployed in Poznań and Katowice. The Group is also set to start the construction of a hydrogen hub in Włocławek by the end of this year.
“We strongly believe alternative fuels will play an increasingly important role in advancing the automotive industry,” said Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board. “We want to spearhead the process, so we are focusing on building hydrogen hubs and hydrogen technologies are a key element of the ORLEN2030 strategy. We believe hydrogen has the greatest potential as a fuel in public transport. Poznań and Katowice, the two cities where our first hydrogen refuelling stations will be located, are examples of good collaboration between PKN ORLEN and local governments that benefits both business and the environment.”
Driving progress in production and distribution of alternative fuels is a cornerstone of the ORLEN2030 strategy and deployment of the refuelling stations is an element of the ORLEN Group’s comprehensive hydrogen programme, which provides for the construction of high-purity hydrogen production sources in Trzebinia and Włocławek. The hub in Trzebinia is under construction and will become operational by the end of 2021. The project to build a hydrogen hub in Włocławek has entered the final stage of procurement, with construction due to start later this year.
On the other hand, hydrogen-powered buses help reduce emissions and noise levels while replacing a diesel-powered city bus with a hydrogen-fuelled one can prevent the emission of 800 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air over the average life span of a bus, which is estimated at 12 years.
