ORLEN expands its hydrogen infrastructure: a new refuelling station opens in Piła
ORLEN has launched its fifth publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling station in Poland, located in Piła. The low-emission fuel can be used by the bus fleet of the local municipal transport company as well as by individual customers. Under the agreement, ORLEN will supply the operator with 219 thousand kilograms of hydrogen, supporting the development of low-emission transport in the region. The facility is also the second hydrogen station in the Wielkopolska Province, following Poznań.
“ORLEN sees significant potential in the use of hydrogen, particularly in public transport. The expansion of the hydrogen refuelling network not only responds to the growing needs of local governments, including the City of Piła, which is consistently pursuing zero-emission mobility, but also represents an important element in the implementation of our strategic objectives and another step towards building a modern hydrogen infrastructure. The new station in Piła complements the network and, together with the facility in Poznań – located just 104 km away – forms the foundation for the development of low-emission transport in the region,” said Jakub Lubiński, Head of the Hydrogen Technologies Office at ORLEN.
The station at ul. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 104 is equipped with two dispensers operating at pressures of 350 bar and 700 bar. The facility offers a daily capacity of 480 kilograms of hydrogen, enabling the refuelling of up to 10 buses and 30 passenger cars. The station is publicly accessible and operates 24 hours a day.
“The Municipal Transport Company in Piła regards today’s opening of the hydrogen station as an extremely important step towards modern and sustainable public transport. The purchase of the first five hydrogen buses, together with the development of supporting infrastructure, represents an investment in the future, in passenger comfort and in energy security. It also constitutes a tangible contribution to environmental protection through reduced exhaust emissions and improved air quality. I would like to thank ORLEN for its professional cooperation, commitment and support, which were essential to the successful implementation of the hydrogen bus procurement project and to advancing the adoption of the most advanced zero-emission technologies,” said Tadeusz Majewski, CEO of the Municipal Transport Company in Piła.
The hydrogen supplied to the Piła station is sourced from the ORLEN Group’s production facilities. The station was developed as part of the Clean Cities – Hydrogen Mobility in Poland (Phase II) project, which secured over EUR 2 million in funding from the CEF Transport Blending Facility. The next phase of the initiative – Phase III – envisages the construction of a further 16 hydrogen stations. In 2024, ORLEN received record, non-repayable EU funding of EUR 62 million for this purpose, significantly accelerating the development of the hydrogen network in Poland.
The ORLEN Group is systematically expanding its hydrogen refuelling network for private and public transport. Hydrogen supplies will be enabled through the development of a European network of hydrogen hubs powered by renewable energy sources, as well as innovative installations converting municipal waste into zero- and low-emission hydrogen. The total planned electrolyser capacity within the ORLEN Group is expected to reach approximately 1 GW by 2030. Combined with waste-to-hydrogen projects, this will enable the production of more than 130 thousand tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually by the end of the current decade. This strategy also includes hydrogen stations currently under development in Gdynia, Płock, Bielsko-Biała and Gorzów Wielkopolski. New stations are being progressively developed as part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), facilitating travel across Poland and Europe.
ORLEN’s publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations are already in operation in Poznań, Katowice, Wałbrzych and Włocławek.
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