Topics related to renewable energy sources and their benefits, opportunities and challenges became the subject of numerous discussion panels taking place on September 26 and 27, 2023 as part of the New Energy Regional Economic Forum in Kielce.
The main panel, which focused on the “hydrogen revolution”, was attended by the Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa, Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism Anna Krupka, president of the management board of Świętokrzyska Grupa Świętokrzyska Przemysłowa INDUSTRIA S.A. Szczepan Ruman, MP Agata Wojtyszek, MP Michał Cieślak, president of the management board of the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Kielce Ryszard Gliwiński and professor of the Kielce University of Technology, Ph.D. Jan Bednarczyk.
The moderators of the discussion, Marzena Ślusarz and Jarosław Panek, noticed that the people of Kielce had previously associated INDUSTRIA, or rather Świętokrzyskie Mines of Mineral Resources, from which the company is based, as a stone mining company, and yet – quite unexpectedly – the topic of hydrogen appeared there.
– The Jaźwica mine is located very close to the S7 road, one of the main arteries on the Warsaw-Kraków route, and very close to the 220 kV high-voltage line. At the same time, this mine pumps and discharges more than half a million cubic meters of water into the river annually. Due to the fact that we approach natural resources more and more consciously, which is also encouraged by, among others, The Ministry of Climate and Environment, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and Polish Waters all know that water is a very valuable resource and at the same time necessary for hydrogen electrolysis, which also requires energy. Our Jaźwica mine is ideally located – it has access to energy because there are high-voltage lines. All you need to do is supply energy from zero-emission sources via these lines. In the future, there may be a center here with a hydrogen station available to the public for cars on the Warsaw-Kraków route, and at the same time there is also potential for hydrogen consumption in heavy mining machines and our transport. All these elements make up a whole that made us want to invest in hydrogen and started the path of building a cluster, which is currently transforming into the Central Hydrogen Valley – said Szczepan Ruman, when asked about the reasons for interest in the new direction of the INDUSTRIA Group.
– The hydrogen valley is already a fact, even though the official opening will take place soon. Poland is committed to hydrogen, although we are not very aware of it and talk too little about it, said Minister Anna Moskwa and added that the advantage of the hydrogen valley is that it operates on the basis of existing economic entities, including: power plants. – Poland is already a hydrogen tycoon. Where hydrogen is produced, there is good news for the environment, she emphasized.
Świętokrzyska Industrial Group INDUSTRIA S.A. took the initiative to establish the Central Hydrogen Valley named after the Łaszczyński Brothers, which is based on the Central Hydrogen Cluster. The main goal of the valley is to create an open forum for cooperation to which all entities interested in building and developing zero-emission energy sources are invited. Currently, the Central Hydrogen Valley brings together over 70 entities, including local governments and companies from the areas neighboring the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship: southern Masovia, Łódź Voivodeship, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Lesser Poland Voivodeship and Lublin Voivodeship. Within the scope of activities of ŚGP INDUSTRIA S.A. “green (zero-emission) hydrogen” is to be used as a fuel, among others. for mining machines in mines belonging to the company, for transporting aggregates, as well as in public transport in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.
The official establishment of the Central Hydrogen Valley will take place on October 12, 2023 at the Kielce Cultural Center.
