Hydrogen supplied by PKN ORLEN to power city buses in Poznań
PKN ORLEN and the Municipal Transport Company (MPK) of Poznań signed a contract for the supply of hydrogen fuel to power zero-emission city buses. It is Poland’s largest hydrogen project of that type to date, and one of the very few such projects in Europe. Over the next fifteen years, PKN ORLEN will supply 1.8 million kg of fuel produced at the hydrogen hub in Włocławek to cover the demand from the public transport system in Poznań. This is yet another project advancing the ORLEN Group’s hydrogen strategy announced earlier this year. The Group plans to allocate PLN 7.4 billion to hydrogen projects by 2030.
- We are consistently investing in state-of-the-art hydrogen technology, which will help us grow dynamically and establish a firm market position in Europe, and also guarantee Poland’s long-term energy security and independence. Hydrogen offers great potential, especially in public transport, and we want to harness it fully. To that end, by 2030 we plan to build a network of more than 100 hydrogen refuelling stations, not only in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We have already launched Poland’s first mobile hydrogen station in Kraków, and we are going to open new hydrogen refuelling stations in other cities over the year. The contract signed with the Municipal Transport Company in Poznań is another big step that brings us closer to our goal, and at the same time it contributes, in real terms, to the development of environmentally-friendly, zero-carbon public transport in the capital of the Greater Poland region, improving the quality of life of its residents - said Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.
Hydrogen to be used in Poznań will be produced in the brine electrolysis process and supplied from PKN ORLEN’s hub in Włocławek. New hydrogen refuelling infrastructure will be built at the ORLEN service station near the Miłostowo tram terminal. It will be open to the public and may be used not only by MPK Poznań buses, but also by all users of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
In Kraków, a hydrogen-powered bus has been carrying passengers since June this year. In the first week alone, the bus refuelled with hydrogen six times and drove 800 km, generating zero carbon emissions. To date, PKN ORLEN has already supplied 730 kg of hydrogen for the Kraków bus. In Poznań, hydrogen-powered vehicles will be released by their manufacturer in the second half of 2023, and PKN ORLEN’s hydrogen refuelling station will be put into service at the same time.
The ORLEN Group is expanding its network of hydrogen refuelling stations both in Poland and abroad. It currently operates two in Germany, and three more are to be opened this year in the Czech Republic. In Poland, another hydrogen station is also being built in Katowice. Public tender procedures for the construction of further three stations in Wałbrzych, Piła and Włocławek are also under way.