The European Union identifies hydrogen technologies and systems as one of several key strategic value chains for Europe. In July 2020 The European Commission published the EU Hydrogen Strategy, setting ambitious goals for the production and use of clean hydrogen, and launched the European Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, bringing together the European community. In Poland, a project by Polenergia, which will result in a hydrogen plant in Upper Silesia, is about to launch.
The first projects related to clean hydrogen are just now being implemented due to programs under which funds are granted by the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR), among many others. The main goal is to support the reaching climate neutrality of Poland, through the implementation of solutions that improve the country’s energy security and increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy. As a result, the share of RES energy in the country’s overall energy mix is expected to increase by 20-50% (compared to the 2020 level).
Polenergia starts the project
The National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) has just awarded a grant to a research and development project of the Polish company Polenergia. The project in question is „H2 HUB Nowa Sarzyna: Green Hydrogen Storage.” The total amount of the subsidy will be up to PLN 95 million (the agreement has already been signed). This is the support granted under the first competition „New technologies in the field of energy” organized by NCBR, in which 6 project groups eventually took part.
The project is being carried out as part of a consortium led by Polenergia. The other partners are Elektrociepłownia Nowa Sarzyna and Wrocław University of Technology.
The aim of the R&D project „H2 HUB Nowa Sarzyna: Green Hydrogen Storage” is to use green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis of water powered by renewable energy, to produce renewable aviation fuel. The created fuel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry, without the need to build new infrastructure, fuel bases and develop new aircraft designs.
The factory will be located in upper Silesia
Green hydrogen production is an important part of Polenergia’s strategy.
– As one of the leaders of renewable energy in Poland, we are conducting an advanced program to develop new business based precisely on green hydrogen. It includes a large-scale hydrogen production facility for water electrolysis in Upper Silesia, as well as smaller projects such as a 5 MW installation located at the Nowa Sarzyna CHP Plant to produce green hydrogen for industry, energy and public transport, and a project to produce renewable aviation fuel, for which we have signed an agreement – said Iwona Sierżęga, a member of the Polenergia Group Management Board.
Three stages
The project „H2 HUB Nowa Sarzyna: Green Hydrogen Storage” will be implemented in three stages. After the implementation of each stage, the consortium and NCBR will evaluate the results of the project and decide whether to proceed to the next phase. The first step involves the creation of an extensive feasibility study. The signed agreement foresees a subsidy of nearly PLN 100,000 for this phase of the project, which is half of the expected financial outlay for this stage of the project. The total value of the NCBiR grant for the entire H2HUB project is more than PLN 95 million.
A key element of the transformation
Green hydrogen is seen as a key component of the energy transition that will avoid CO2 emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industries such as steel production, cement production, marine transportation and air transport.
The main challenge of using hydrogen as an energy carrier is its relatively low volumetric energy density compared to traditional fossil fuels. Its storage requires the construction of advanced tanks in which hydrogen in gaseous form is stored under high pressure. An alternative storage method is the conversion of hydrogen to other chemical compounds such as liquid fuels.
