© Orlen Group
Poland’s Orlen has opened its fifth publicly accessible hydrogen refueling station, launching a new facility in the city of Piła that will supply municipal buses and private vehicles as part of the country’s expanding low-emission transport infrastructure.
Part of wider push into hydrogen mobility
The opening comes as European energy groups and local governments continue to test hydrogen’s role in decarbonising heavy and urban transport, where battery electrification remains challenging. In Poland, hydrogen deployment has focused primarily on buses, supported by EU funding and pilot schemes tied to regional air-quality targets.
Supply agreement underpins public transport use
Under an agreement with Piła’s municipal transport operator, Orlen will supply 219,000 kilograms of hydrogen to support the city’s bus fleet. The station is located at ul. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 104 and is Orlen’s second hydrogen refuelling site in the Wielkopolska province, following Poznań, which lies 104 km away.
Station capacity and technical specifications
The Piła facility is equipped with two dispensers operating at 350 bar and 700 bar, allowing it to refuel both heavy-duty vehicles and passenger cars. With a daily capacity of 480 kg of hydrogen, the station can supply up to 10 buses and around 30 cars per day and is open to the public 24 hours a day.
Orlen links project to corporate strategy
Jakub Lubiński, head of the hydrogen technologies office at Orlen, said the company sees hydrogen as particularly relevant for public transport. “Orlen sees significant potential in the use of hydrogen, particularly in public transport,” he said, adding that the Piła station complements the existing network and supports local zero-emission mobility objectives.
EU funding supports network expansion
The project forms part of the Clean Cities – Hydrogen Mobility in Poland programme (Phase II), which secured more than €2m in funding from the CEF Transport Blending Facility. Phase III of the initiative is expected to add a further 16 hydrogen stations, backed by €62m in non-repayable EU funding awarded to Orlen in 2024.
Broader rollout across Poland and Europe
Hydrogen supplied to the Piła station is sourced from Orlen Group production facilities. The company is also developing additional stations in Gdynia, Płock, Bielsko-Biała and Gorzów Wielkopolski, expanding on existing sites in Poznań, Katowice, Wałbrzych and Włocławek. Orlen says the stations will align with the Trans-European Transport Network, potentially supporting cross-border hydrogen mobility as infrastructure develops.
