Jastrzębska Spółka bets on hydrogen as a fuel of the future and works intensively on innovative technologies, which will enable efficient production of this ecological source of energy in coking plants within the JSW group. JSW’s joining Hydrogen Europe results in the deepening of cooperation with the largest companies, institutes and associations that believe in the industrial use of hydrogen. For JSW that means new opportunities, including access to the valuable know-how and state-of-the-art technological solutions.
“Hydrogen Europe is an influential association of global tycoons investing in hydrogen, which is an environmentally friendly source of energy. This is why JSW decided to join the association. We want to transform ourselves from the traditional supplier of a strategic raw material for the steel industry into modern industrial group, which develops innovative, efficient and environmentally friendly technologies,” said Daniel Ozon, president of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. “JSW is working intensively on the launch of the first installation to separate hydrogen, which is a by-product in the coking coal production process. According to the company’s plan, the hydrogen produced in the Przyjaźń Coking Plant may supply hundreds of emission-free buses, which could service over two and a half million inhabitants of the Silesian Agglomeration. The company’s ambitious plans fit ideally into the Responsible Development Strategy of prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.”
The planned installation will enable the production of approx. 8,000 t/year of hydrogen with 99.999% H2 purity, which would secure the annual requirement for over 900 buses or over 4000 cars with hydrogen propulsion.
“JSW analyzes individual technical solutions for hydrogen separation, in particularly ones originating from the Asian market. The company wants to become the main supplier of hydrogen in the region and in this way contribute to, among other things, the accomplishment of the targets of the environmental policy in Silesia. We promote this fuel actively. That was the case for example during the COP24 Climate Summit in Katowice. We organized there a special JSW hydrogen bus, which transferred participants of the event, as well as a mobile hydrogen filling station. The station was used, among others, by representatives of Hydrogen Europe, organization which we have just joined to our satisfaction,” says Karolina Kuś, Director of the International Relations Office. “The chairman of Hydrogen Europe came to the COP24 climate summit from Brussels in a hydrogen powered car and used the mobile station in front of the JSW Innowacje building.”
JSW SA is the largest producer of coking coal in the European Union, producing approx. 3.5 million tons of coke a year. Coking plants in the JSW Group have the production capacity reaching 72,000 tons of hydrogen annually.
Hydrogen Europe, with its registered office in Brussels, is the most significant European association of hydrogen and fuel cells. At present, it represents over 100 industrial companies, 68 research organizations and 13 associations. It cooperates regularly with the European Commission and the major national institutions, public administration, universities and research centers for the development of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. The association members include 3M, Airbus, Alstom, Anglo American, Audi, BMW GROUP, China Energy, General Motors, Toyota.