The Oil Products Laboratory in Trzebin, owned by ORLEN Laboratory, has become the first facility in Poland and the third globally to receive accreditation for the advanced testing methods of hydrogen of automotive quality. The positive evaluation from the Polish Accreditation Center is crucial for the hydrogen producer, ORLEN South. In 2024, ORLEN Laboratory plans to also obtain accreditation for its second laboratory in Wloclawek, where a hydrogen hub will soon be launched.
From 1 January 2025, each hydrogen laboratory will be required to obtain accreditation for individual methods of testing the quality parameters of hydrogen and for collecting hydrogen samples for product certification. The accreditation received by the Oil Products Laboratory in Trzebin almost a year ahead of the legal regulations, allows for further work on automotive quality hydrogen. This is a significant facilitation for the hydrogen producer, ORLEN South, which will benefit from the opportunity to certify the hydrogen it produces and conduct further research in the accredited laboratory.
“Hydrogen, as one of the pillars of the energy transition, is also an essential part of ORLEN Group’s strategy. We are investing 7.4 billion PLN in this fuel until 2030, and the transport industry is an important focus of our actions. We are launching more hydrogen stations for buses, trucks, and passenger cars and testing the first hydrogen locomotive. The expansion of the accreditation scope of the laboratory in Trzebin to include automotive hydrogen tests is another significant step in this area’s development. I am pleased that we have joined the prestigious laboratories from the UK and the USA. This would not have been possible without lengthy preparations and hard work of the entire team, for which they deserve huge thanks,” says Grzegorz Jóźwiak, Director of Hydrogen Technologies and Synthetic Fuels Office of ORLEN.
The successful process of obtaining accreditation by the laboratory in Trzebin is the result of three years of preparation, making it the only such entity in Poland. A key factor was the cooperation with the National Physical Laboratory from the UK, a leading institute involved in testing automotive quality hydrogen. This collaboration resulted in inviting the Polish laboratory to participate in a proficiency testing program, which confirmed the competence of the Laboratory in Trzebin and gave the green light to apply for accreditation as one of only four facilities in the world.
In 2023, ORLEN Laboratory put into operation a second hydrogen testing laboratory of automotive quality in the Fertilizers and Natural Environment Room in Wloclawek. Ultimately, the Wloclawek Fertilizer and Natural Environment Room will provide analytical services for the newly launched hydrogen hub in Wloclawek. In 2024, it is planned to obtain accreditation for hydrogen fuel testing methods at this location, as well as for the hydrogen sample collection process, carried out by the ORLEN Laboratory Logistics Department.
ORLEN is also the leader of two Hydrogen Valleys- established in 2022 in Mazovia and Amber Valley (Pomeranian Voivodeship) created one year later by an international consortium of 11 entities. The Amber Valley Hydrogen project is the first in Poland to have a certificate issued by Mission Innovation and Clean Hydrogen Partnership for a flagship hydrogen valley project. The latter project includes the launch of renewable hydrogen production sources and the creation of the world’s first fleet of hydrogen port vehicles, which will serve the port of Gdynia.
