Poland

Country: Poland

Document type: Draft National Strategy

Title: Polish Hydrogen Strategy until 2030 with an Outlook until 2040

Approved: November 2021

Summary Points:

In January 2021, the Ministry of Climate and Environment published the draft ‘Polish Hydrogen Strategy until 2030 with an Outlook until 2040’ for public consultation. The Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on the adoption of the strategy in November 2021. 

The strategy includes six specific objectives:

  • Objective 1 – Implementation of hydrogen technologies in the energy and heating sector.
  • Goal 2 – Use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel in transport.
  • Objective 3 – Support the decarbonisation of industry.
  • Objective 4 – Hydrogen production in new installations.
  • Goal 5 – efficient and safe transmission, distribution and storage of hydrogen.
  • Objective 6 – Creating a stable regulatory environment.

Key planning targets included are strategy are:

  • Installed capacity of low-carbon hydrogen production facilities: 50 MW by 2025 and 2GW by 2030.
  • Number of hydrogen valleys: at least 5 by 2030.
  • Number of hydrogen buses in service: 100-250 by 2025 and 800-1,000 by 2030.
  • Number of hydrogen stations: at least 32 by 2030.
  • Conclusion of the Agreement for the Construction of a Hydrogen Economy (concluded on 14.10.2021).
  • Creating an innovation ecosystem of hydrogen valleys.
  • Establishment of the Centre for Hydrogen Technologies.

The strategy is inclusive of all methods of low- and zero-emission hydrogen production.

The implementation of the strategy is estimated to require combined public and private investments of around €445 million by 2025 and €3 billion by 2030. In its Poland 2022: Energy Policy Review, the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that the strategy identifies several national and EU sources of funding.

  • At the national level, the Hydrogen Technologies Support Programme would provide €220 million (mainly for hydrogen valleys); the New Energy Programme would provide €132 million for companies investing in the production, transport, storage and use of zero-emission hydrogen; and the Hydrogenation of the Economy Programme will support innovative hydrogen projects.
  • Several EU mechanisms can support funding for hydrogen projects; for example, Poland’s EU Recovery and Resilience Plan includes €800 million to support the development of green hydrogen technologies. 

An important action to implement the strategy is the creation of a stable regulatory environment; an official repository of information on hydrogen-related legislative work programme on ‘Bill amending the Energy Law and certain other acts’ can be found here.

In May 2024, press reports noted that the Polich Government had published a (draft) legislative package aimed at creating a regulatory environment that would support renewable hydrogen use. Key elements of the draft include the introduction of new definitions for renewable and low-emission gases, the creation of an EU certification system, and the appointment of operators for the hydrogen transmission system, the hydrogen distribution system and the the hydrogen storage system. Official information on the draft measures can be found here.

 

Updated: July 2024