Polenergia has scrapped its plans to supply hydrogen for Rzeszów’s city buses in Poland, citing legal uncertainties as the primary reason, according to local reports.
Last October, Polenergia’s H2Hub Nowa Sarzyna business unit secured a 15-year contract to deliver hydrogen for 20 buses as part of a PLN 120 million ($29m) bid, despite MPK Rzeszów, the city’s public transport company, only budgeting for PLN 86m ($21m).
However, Polenergia announced its withdrawal from the tender on January 9, 2025, stating, “Subsidiary Polenergia H2HUB Nowa Sarzyna has identified circumstances preventing the conclusion of the public procurement contract no. DW.TZ.1.2024 for ‘Supply and Distribution of Hydrogen Fuel.’”
It is uncertain whether Polenergia’s withdrawal will derail the city’s plans to introduce hydrogen-powered public transport.
Rzeszów received around PLN 70m ($17m) in grants from one of the National Recovery Plan programmes to purchase 20 hydrogen-powered buses last year, before they announced a tender for the supply of green hydrogen.
Under the term agreements, hydrogen would have been supplied for 15 years from December 1, 2025, with an estimated total of 1,400 tonnes.
The tender also included building a hydrogen refuelling station, which the supplier would be responsible for.
Polenergia H2Hub Nowa Sarzyna were the only company to submit an offer for the tender. The company had already obtained a permit to build a facility for producing green hydrogen in Poland, with a 5MW electrolyser.
Read more:Polenergia achieves 15% hydrogen co-combustion and secures plant permit
In October, the company completed its first hydrogen co-combustion tests, which were conducted at the company’s Nowa Sarzyna Cogeneration Plant (NSCP) in one of the gas turbines with a 40MW capacity.
Additionally, Polenergia received the green light to install a 5MW electrolyser and hydrogen refuelling solution at the NSCP – the H2HUB Nowa Sarzyna project. Hystar has delivered eight electrolyser stacks to Gdánsk, where they will be connected to the rest of the electrolyser elements.
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