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JSW and PKP Cargo undertake ambitious hydrogen project

On 14 June, during the IMPACT’18 conference in Krakow, representatives of Management Boards of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa and PKP Cargo signed a letter of intent for joint innovative investment projects related to the commercial use of hydrogen fuel.

photo: Dawid Lach

The document assumes, among others, cooperation aimed at research, analysis and in the future production of new types of hydrogen powered wagons and maneuvering locomotives and their subsequent maintenance and operation.

JSW and PKP Cargo have identified the possibility of executing joint projects where the main goal would be to work out innovative solutions promoting lower consumption of energy, fuel and exhaust emissions linked to the commercial operation of hydrogen powered wagons and locomotives. The parties assume that where justified they could cooperate with other partners. They will also analyze investment opportunities on the land of the former Krupiński mine.

- JSW is betting on hydrogen – the fuel of the future. In accordance with the JSW Development Strategy for 2018-2030, we are actively working towards the development of clean hydrogen technologies. We are examining the possibility of utilizing hydrogen extracted from coke oven gas, which is a by-product of the coke production process; we are also actively involved in e-mobility projects – says Daniel Ozon, JSW President. - We are striving to use coke oven gas to produce pure hydrogen that in the future could become an emissionless fuel for JSW’s contemporary rolling stock.

The cooperation between JSW and PKP Cargo is yet another stage of efforts by JSW, the largest producer of coking coal in the EU, to implement a technology for separation of hydrogen from coke oven gas. Separated and purified hydrogen can be used in hydrogen cells for environmentally-friendly and emission-free generation of electricity, heat and cooling, environmentally-friendly public transport, powering electrical devices and emergency power supply stations (hospitals, schools, government buildings).

- The letter of intent that we signed shows the great importance attached by the PKP Cargo Management Board to the optimization of processes and promotion of innovative solutions in our development strategy.  The use of hydrogen to drive our locomotives will increase the competitiveness of our services. PKP CARGO is the largest cargo carrier in Poland and one of the largest in Europe. We want to be a company that is not just the leader of the transport market, but also sets the tone for innovation on the railway. Cooperation with JSW is another step to becoming an innovation leader in the rail transport sector, since hydrogen powered locomotives would put us on a much higher level of development – noted Czesław Warsewicz, president of PKP Cargo S.A.

PKP CARGO Group is the largest operator of rail cargo transport in Poland and one of the leaders in the European Union. In 2017, we achieved revenue of PLN 4.74 billion, transporting more than 119 million tons of goods.

The JSW Group is the largest producer of high quality hard coking coal and a significant producer of coke in the European Union measured by production volume. JSW Group’s core business comprises the production and sale of coking coal and the production and sale of coke and hydrocarbons. Coal extracted by the JSW Group, mainly coking coal, is used in Central Europe by local steel mills owned by international steel producers and regional utilities.