On July 17, 2023, a letter of intent was signed at the Enea Kozienice power plant on the establishment of the Łaszczyński Brothers Central Hydrogen Valley. This is the result of two years of work for the hydrogen economy in Poland and a natural continuation of the activities of the Central Hydrogen Cluster founded by the Świętokrzyskie Industrial Group Industria.
“Initiating the creation of the Central Hydrogen Valley is an important step on the way to the energy transformation and the development of our hydrogen economy. This is a solution that, thanks to the involvement of Polish businesses and experts, will strengthen both our energy security and the competitive advantage of the national economy,” said the Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa on July 17, 2023 during the ceremony of signing the letter of intent at the Kozienice Power Plant. The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Ireneusz Zyska, representatives of energy groups and companies, businesspeople and scientific organisations.
The Central Hydrogen Valley is a comprehensive project that will cover the entire path of hydrogen production and use. Starting from the construction of electrolysers that will convert electricity into hydrogen, through hydrogen storage, and ending with its use for electricity production. Its foundation is the Central Hydrogen Cluster and it currently brings together over 50 entities, joined by the companies from the ENEA group after signing the letter.
“The construction of power units in gas and steam technology has begun in Kozienice. These units will also be prepared to use low-emission hydrogen. Another important recipient of hydrogen fuel in the Central Hydrogen Valley will be the ceramic industry, which uses this raw material in production processes. Noteworthy is also the need to decarbonise transportation in large urban centres such as Kielce or Radom, as well as transport in the vicinity of the Solidarity Transport Hub, an important economic project in Poland,” said Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moscow.
“Such investments provide a huge field for scientific research and implementation work, which is why universities have also been involved in the creation of the Central Hydrogen Valley. In the future, the development of the hydrogen economy will allow us to educate experts whose knowledge and experience will create the foundation for building the competitiveness and attractiveness of the regions involved in the activities of the Central Hydrogen Valley,” she emphasised.
Deputy Minister Ireneusz Zyska added that the ecosystem of hydrogen valleys would allow Poland to play an important role in and beyond Europe in the field of hydrogen economy.
Due to the event, July 17, 2023 would go down in history of both northern Mazovia and the entire Poland. The potential represented by the signatories of the Central Hydrogen Valley letter of intent would give great opportunities for projects of supra-regional and even European importance to be developed here, said the Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment.
“In recent years, we have undertaken a number of initiatives related to building a hydrogen economy in Poland. It is primarily the Polish hydrogen strategy until 2023 with a perspective until 2040, developed and adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2021, which refers to PEP2040. Our activities also include initiating a sectoral agreement, the first in the European Union. Over 250 entities from Poland and abroad are deeply involved in this agreement,” noted Deputy Minister Ireneusz Zyska..
“We are glad that the inauguration of the Central Hydrogen Valley takes place in Kozienice, because it is here that Enea invests in a future-oriented and innovative way. The new gas blocks will be ready for the so-called co-combustion of the fuel of the future, which is hydrogen. We are quite confident that in the coming years, when the units start operating, we will be interested in using green hydrogen produced in the electrolysis process using energy from renewable sources. The gas block building process itself is being carried out as planned,” said Paweł Majewski, President of the Management Board of ENEA S.A.
“Industrial Development Agency is one of the pioneers of the hydrogen market in Poland. We could not miss the creation of the Central Hydrogen Valley. Until recently, the Industrial Development Agency dealt mainly with restructuring, but now we are focusing more and more on projects of key importance for the development of Poland in the coming decades. We support processes that transform the national economy towards energy sovereignty and innovation. We invest, for example, in offshore wind energy, electromobility and the space industry. Hydrogen will be the fuel of the future, but today the global markets are fighting for a good starting position in this promising industry. We want Poland not to have to chase the leaders, but to set the pace of development of the hydrogen market in the world. That is why I am glad that the Central Hydrogen Valley is starting now and with such a strong team,” emphasized Mariusz Rusiecki, Vice-President of the Management Board of Industrial Development Agency.
“Today’s ceremony is a great reward for us for two years of hard work on the development of the hydrogen economy in Poland. This day shows how important ‘team play‘ is for such far-reaching plans as building a hydrogen economy or building the SMR energy value chain. All this would not be possible without the consistent and stable support of our owner – the Industrial Development Agency, which creates an ecosystem of hydrogen valleys in Poland. I believe that the Łaszczyński Brothers Central Hydrogen Valley will play a key role in the development of the hydrogen economy in Poland and will significantly contribute to the success of our country within the entire European economy in the field of building new, zero-emission energy systems,” summed up Szczepan Ruman, President of the Świętokrzyskie Industrial Group INDUSTRIA.
