Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK Group's green hydrogen production electrolysis plant has been launched in Konin. Thus, the full value chain of the green hydrogen economy of Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK Group is now in operation. The production of zero-emission fuel uses a 2.5 MW electrolyser in the PEM technology, which enables the production of approximately 1,000 kg of green hydrogen per day. This amount of hydrogen allows the refuelling of about 40 city hydrogen buses daily.
Green hydrogen production in Konin is in the commissioning stage and the electrolysis plant is undergoing fine-tuning. Green hydrogen from Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK meets international hydrogen purity standards for fuel cells in cars, buses and delivery vans. In the first stage, production is based on a 2.5 MW electrolyser in the PEM technology. It allows the production of over 1,000 kg of green hydrogen per day, with the capacity to refuel around 40 city buses. In subsequent stages, the number of electrolysers installed will be increased. Polsat Plus Group, is, among others, finalising work on an 0.5 MW alkaline electrolyser of its own production.
Polsat Plus Group is consistently implementing its Strategy 2023+ to build zero- and low-emission sources of electricity and a full value chain of a green hydrogen economy. It successfully produces green energy, among others, from solar and wind power (it has 338 MW of installed RES capacity), which will now also be used to produce green hydrogen. For hydrogen transportation and storage, 10 hydrogen trailers with the latest, fourth-generation cylinders are used - nine with a capacity of 1024 kg and one with a capacity of 371 kg.
The construction of hydrogen refuelling stations is another link in the hydrogen chain, which aims to make this fuel more widespread both among institutional customers, such as municipal public transport companies, and among individual customers who care about improving air quality and the condition of the environment.
Polsat Plus Group's publicly accessible NESO hydrogen refuelling stations enable the refuelling of buses, cars and delivery vans. The network of NESO stations is expanding steadily - stations already in operation are located in Warsaw, Rybnik, Gdańsk, Gdynia and Lublin, and a station will be launched in Wrocław before the end of the year. These investments are being made by Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK with the support of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. 5 more NESO hydrogen refuelling stations located along the roads of the TEN-T network will be built with funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.
The name of the network of hydrogen refuelling stations of Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK comes from the first letters of the Polish words „Nie Emituję Spalin, Oczyszczam”, which translates to ‘I don't emit fumes, I purify’. The NESO stations are currently among the most modern in Europe. They are largely self-sufficient in terms of energy. Installed 19 kW solar panels supply electricity to the stations, and 60 kWh energy storage facilities can store the energy surplus.
NESO stations are fully self-service and are used in a similar way to traditional stations. Refuelling a passenger car takes about 3-4 minutes and this provides a range of about 650 km. Refuelling a bus takes several minutes and its range is approximately 450 km.
Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK Group also produce NesoBus hydrogen city buses at their factory in Świdnik. Ultra-ecological and extremely modern NesoBuses are already running in Rybnik (20 units) and Gdańsk (10 units), and orders are in progress for Chełm (26 units), Konin (5 units) and Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia (8 units). Residents of many other cities, such as Warsaw, Wrocław, Szczecin and Lublin, had the opportunity to test them as well.
Green hydrogen is a clean and zero-emission fuel. Hydrogen-powered cars and buses emit only ‘distilled’ water vapour from the exhaust pipe. Not only do they not emit exhaust fumes or toxic substances - apart from CO2, these are mainly nitrogen oxides or particulates, especially fine PM 2.5, but they also clean the air.