Poland’s PKN Orlen has secured €158mn ($174mn) in state aid towards a large-scale green hydrogen project developed by its special purpose vehicle Lotos, following approval by the European Commission.

Lotos will install a 100MW electrolyser, along with 50MW of solar and 20MWh of battery storage, to produce up to 13,600t/yr of green hydrogen for use in PKN’s Gdansk refinery. The plant is due to start up in 2027.

130,000t/yr – PKN Orlen target for renewable hydrogen by 2030

PKN announced its merger with Lotos last year. The company targets net zero across all scopes by 2050 and a 25pc absolute reduction in CO₂e emissions from refining, petrochemicals and upstream businesses by 2030.

PKN plans to allocate 40pc of capex up to the beginning of the next decade to green projects. This includes at least $1.1bn towards renewable hydrogen in an effort to produce more than 130,000t/yr by 2030. The firm also plans to produce more than 70,000t/yr of synthetic fuels and capture around 3mn t/yr of CO₂.

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Author: Polly Martin