Hydrogen Safety in Poland: Regulations and Legislation

Currently, there is no dedicated hydrogen law in Poland. Existing provisions of the Polish legal framework primarily capture hydrogen in transportation, although this area is also not well covered. 

The Strategy provides for the drawing up of comprehensive legal regulations enabling the creation of a competitive and efficiently operating hydrogen market in Poland, removing current barriers to developing that market. 

Hydrogen Regulations in Poland

The most important activities in the Hydrogen field include:

• the creation of a legal framework for hydrogen being used as an alternative fuel in transportation,
• the creation of the legal grounds for the hydrogen market operation
• the development of the hydrogen legislative package, i.e. provisions detailing the market operation, implementing EU law in that respect, and implementing incentives for low-carbon hydrogen production.

At present, the adoption of a comprehensive regulation by implementing a separate comprehensive “Hydrogen Law” has been seriously considered.

As of the study’s date, no draft acts regulating the above areas have been drawn up.

Hydrogen Legislation in Poland

Hydrogen legislation in Poland is fragmented. There is no dedicated act for hydrogen in the Polish legal framework. Thus, the stakeholders are forced to follow general rules arising from the Polish system of energy law, which is currently only sometimes suitable for developing hydrogen technology. 

However, to the extent that it is technically possible to transport hydrogen via the gas network, hydrogen could be treated as a gaseous fuel under the definition provided by the Energy Law Act. Thus, general provisions for gaseous fuels are applicable in this respect. Nevertheless, no direct provisions exist concerning hydrogen’s injection into a gas or storage system.

In June 2021, the Ministry of the Climate proposed an amendment to the Fuel Quality Monitoring and Scrutinising System Act. The draft legislation classifies hydrogen within the definition of fuels under this Act and outlines its use for transportation.

Furthermore, the Act deals with the quality of such hydrogen. Under this Act, the minister responsible for energy matters was authorised to issue the regulation, which provides the quality conditions for hydrogen and for collecting samples of it for control purposes. The Act was passed by the Polish Parliament and signed by the President of Poland on 27 August 2021.