# Hydrogen Materials and Technologies in the Aspect of Utilization in the Polish Energy Sector
## 6 The Future of Hydrogen in Poland  
Poland has a great potential to use hydrogen, as it is currently the third producer of this gas in the European Union and fifth in the world. This hydrogen is almost exclusively (95%) non-renewable hydrogen, so-called grey hydrogen, produced by the most common and most inexpensive method, mainly from natural gas in the process of steam methane reforming by refineries and chemical plants. The largest hydrogen producers in Poland are Grupa Orlen (Plock, Poland), Grupa Azoty S.A. (Tarnow, Poland), and Jastrzebska Spoika Weglowa (Jastrzebie-Zdroj, Poland). The produced hydrogen is practically entirely used for industry (chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical) and the food sector (Figure 4), and only a small part is traded on the market. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline
**Polish Hydrogen Valley (Year of Establishment)** & **Scope of Activity/Achievements** \\ \hline Pomeranian (2019) & the application of zero-emission hydrogen in public transport, production of green hydrogen from offshore areas, and production of electrolysis; Lotos Group implemented the Pure H2 project until 2023 \\ \hline Subcarpathian (2021) & hydrogen buses, hydrogen in aviation, hydrogen in energy, green heat, and water pipelines; Polenergia is implementing the H2 HUB Nowa Sarzyna project “Green Hydrogen Storage” with an application for project development assistance \\ \hline Silesian–Lesser (2022) & the production of 350 \(\text{tH}_{2}/\text{y}\) low-emission hydrogen, green steel, and the decarbonisation of public transport; Orlen Poludnie launched a green glycol production plant; the creation of the hydrogen portal H2 Poland.eu, supporting the development of the hydrogen economy in Poland and the Silesian–Lesser Poland Hydrogen Valley \\ \hline Lower Silesian (2022) & the production of green ammonia, green heat, and the use of green hydrogen in metallurgical processes, namely the production of green copper, hydrogen in river transport (hydrogen barges), hydrogen in public transport, and hydrogen storage; in 2022, two applications were submitted to an international consortium for the Horizon Europe programme for the development of a regional hydrogen economy; in 2023, the first commercial installation for the production of green hydrogen in Poland (electrolyser with a capacity of 5 MW, 720 \(\text{tH}_{2}/\text{y}\)) powered by renewable energy (wind, PV) was launched; the produced hydrogen will be converted in a trigeneration installation (into heat, cold, electricity) and used as a green fuel \\ \hline Mazovian (2022) & the production of green hydrogen, synthetic fuels, biogas, the petrochemical industry, hydrogen in river transport, and public transport, namely the production of hydrogen buses and hydrogen refuelling stations; PKN Orlen is implementing the Hydrogen Eagle project and IPCEI called Hy2 USE; the Hydrogen Academy project was also launched \\ \hline Central (2023) & hydrogen production from renewable energy, hydrogen haulers, hydrogen storage, renewable energy, green public transport, and hydrogen production from nuclear energy \\ \hline West Pomeranian (2022) & green ammonia production, low-emission maritime transport, low-emission river transport, ammonia collection infrastructure, integration around a large chemical company, and the Shore H2 Valley concept \\ \hline Greater (2021) & the production of clean hydrogen and hydrogen in housing, which is a project of the first housing estate in Poland heated with a zero-emission hydrogen boiler; hydrogen refuelling stations, the production of hydrogen buses, hydrogen in air transport; the “Economical 20250-H2 Greater Poland” project is being implemented \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: The scope of activities of the Polish hydrogen valleys. Own study based on [70; 71]. One of the alternatives to ensure Poland's energy security may be the gasification of coal. The implementation of gasification technology for this raw material has not been used as an important element of the state strategy.