Polish energy company ORLEN announced on Wednesday (6 March) that its testing unit in Trzebinia (southern Poland) is the first lab in Poland and the third worldwide to have secured accreditation for advanced automotive grade hydrogen testing methods.
In 2024, ORLEN aims to secure accreditation for its second lab in Włocławek (north-central Poland), which is planned to house the company’s “hydrogen hub.”
Starting from 1 January 2025, every hydrogen laboratory will be required, for product certification purposes, to have each hydrogen quality testing method and hydrogen sampling process accredited.
“As a key enabler of the energy transition, hydrogen plays an important role also in the ORLEN Group’s strategic vision. To underscore our commitment to this fuel, we have earmarked 7.4bn zlotys for related investments by 2030, with a primary focus on hydrogen mobility. We’re expanding hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, launching stations for buses, trucks and cars, while testing the first hydrogen-powered locomotive,” said Grzegorz Jóźwiak, Head of the ORLEN Hydrogen Technology and Synthetic Fuels Office.
The accreditation for the Refining Products Testing Unit in Trzebinia has been secured almost a year ahead of the regulatory requirements, which is expected to enable immediate commencement of further work on automotive grade hydrogen.
“The recent extension of the accreditation held by our lab in Trzebinia to encompass automotive grade hydrogen testing marks another significant stride forward in this area. I’m delighted that we’ve been positioned alongside prestigious counterparts in the United Kingdom and United States. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without meticulous preparations and dedication of our entire team, who deserve a big thank you,” Mr Jóźwiak added.
The accreditation for the testing unit in Trzebinia was preceded by three years of preparations, underpinned by a strategic collaboration with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory. A proficiency testing programme, to which the Polish laboratory had been invited as a result of this collaboration, confirmed its competence and qualified it to apply for the accreditation, as one of only four facilities globally.