Poland Announces Plans for Green Hydrogen Production Plant
The head of Poland’s Industrial Development Agency (ARP) has unveiled plans to build a green hydrogen production plant in the south-western region of Silesia. This move underscores the growing interest in hydrogen as a sustainable fuel.
According to Precedence Research, a Canadian/Indian strategic market insights company, the value of the global green hydrogen market will soar from $6.26 billion last year to over $134.38 billion by 2033.
Unlike less environmentally-friendly forms of the gas, identified as grey or brown or blue, green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power. It can be used in transportation, industry, and energy storage.
Michał Dąbrowski said the factory will be a joint venture between the ARP, a state run agency which buys into mainly industrial companies to provide impetus for their growth, and three investment partners.
“I believe this project will transform the outlook for Poland’s economy, particularly in the transportation and environmental sectors,” he told the Polish Press Agency. The investment, he added, would incorporate the use of green hydrogen in both industry and the automotive sectors.
The initiative is likely to be located in Silesia, an area transitioning from coal mining and heavy industry
The initiative is likely to be located in Silesia, an area transitioning from coal mining and heavy industry, according to Dąbrowski. However, neither the exact location of the factory nor the names of the additional partners in the project were revealed.
Poland is currently one of the world’s largest producers of hydrogen produced from natural gas, most of which is used in industrial processes in the chemical industry, and is classified as “blue” or “grey” hydrogen.
Poland’s neighbors in Germany have invested significantly in hydrogen use, particularly in the automotive sector. According to a gas expert on the German market TVP World spoke to, wide scale use of the gas for transport or heating has several distribution issues, which remain a challenge.
Why recent scare stories about blue hydrogen are inaccurate and misleading
Claims that blue H2 will increase emissions in Europe are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of EU legislation and intentions, writes Hydrogen Europe’s Daniel Fraile.
A recent report from DeSmog has highlighted understandable concerns regarding the production of low-carbon hydrogen using gas combined with carbon capture and storage technology, also known as blue hydrogen.
Naturally, if hydrogen products are to contribute to decarbonisation, they must be able to demonstrate significant emissions reduction compared to traditional fossil-based fuels. This is the main driver behind the whole debate about the creation of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), or in the US, the discussion around the definition of clean hydrogen.
The aim is to distinguish any renewable hydrogen from renewable hydrogen that delivers significant emissions reductions. And the same is true for non-renewable low-carbon hydrogen production pathways.
