The purpose of the investment is to improve the production process to curtail the coking plant’s impact on the natural environment, especially when it comes to gas and dust emissions. Additionally, modernization will enhance its flexibility in respect of the raw materials used to compose the charge and reduce the costs of producing coke. The combination of the stamp charging system for filling chambers, dry coke quenching and modern technological solutions will mean that on top of the highest possible increase in the quality of coke, the most modern coke oven battery in Poland and one of the most modern in the world with a production capacity of 610 thousand tons of coke a year will be deployed.

“This investment is one example of taking a consistent approach to altering industry in Poland (...). Poland has always been strong in industry and it has built its position on industry. We are currently rebuilding Polish industry, in part through this investment”, said Grzegorz Tobiszowski, deputy minister of energy during the agreement signing ceremony while highlighting that modernizing the coke oven battery entails the application of the newest technology and means improving the quality of the air in the Dąbrowskie Basin. To kick off the investment process it was necessary to procure the appropriate funding. The Company analyzed a number of opportunities to obtain funds for this task from domestic and EU funding sources. The size of the business and the nature of this investment project precluded the possibility of applying for grants under most of the competitions in EU programs. Moreover, the project must fulfill public aid guidelines. That is why the Company submitted an application at the end of last year to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Warsaw to underwrite the investment task entitled “Modernization of coke oven battery no. 4 in the Przyjaźń Coking Plant” in the form of a preferential loan of PLN 200 million. This application received a positive formal, technical and financial evaluation and a recommendation for funding.

This upgrade is a perfect fit as an investment project to curtail harmful emissions into the atmosphere for fuel combustion sources with a capacity above 50 MW, i.e. containment of the emissions of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust. This investment is slated to last from March 2019 until March 2021. It forms the first stage of the regular modernization of coke oven batteries 3 and 4 in the Przyjaźń Coking Plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza.