A new report by Bankwatch Network highlights that Poland’s hydrogen-powered public transport system is stumbling due to prohibitive costs, fuel unavailability, and challenges caused by market maturity.
In Poland, hydrogen-powered public transport has been established almost exclusively through substantial public funding. However, projects are being suspended, cancelled, or are failing for financial reasons.
In mid-2025, a tender for hydrogen supplies in Rybnik failed to attract a single bid. While a contract for green hydrogen delivery from Konin was eventually secured, the city considers dependence on a single supplier so precarious that it is now investigating the feasibility of investing in its own hydrogen production facility.
Funding Poland’s projects
To date, funding for projects involving the purchase of hydrogen buses or the construction of hydrogen refuelling stations have amounted to over €120.7 million ($196.3 million) in non-repayable grants and just under €6.08 million in loans, financing 163 buses and two stations.
A further 73 fuel-cell electric buses and one station were funded through projects that also included battery electric buses, charging stations, and other investments — making it impossible to determine the exact amount allocated to hydrogen, according to the Bankwatch report.
The report argues that hydrogen buses were promoted as a shortcut pathway to green transportation, supported by EU and state funding. However, many Polish municipalities are now retreating towards battery-electric alternatives after facing prohibitive fuel costs and lack of refuelling stations.
By the end of 2025, 100 fuel-cell electric buses were deployed, but low-carbon hydrogen production capacity remained almost 10 times lower than the target set in the Polish Hydrogen Strategy.
For context, the strategy set a target of 100-250 hydrogen buses by 2025, increasing to between 800 and 1,000 buses over the following five years.
To achieve the 2030 targets set under the 2023 Renewable Energy Directive, Poland would require approximately 250,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen, including 91,700 tonnes for transport alone.
Renewable hydrogen demand
Bankwatch reports that this demand, however, is unlikely to be met by domestic production, which is projected to range between 20,000 and 122,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, depending on the scenario.
As of April 2026, ZE PAK remains the sole provider of electrolytic hydrogen for transport in Poland. Although the company has already signed delivery contracts to fuel over 100 buses, it has yet to act towards delivering its strategic plan of doubling renewable hydrogen production capacity.
Meanwhile, Orlen has adopted a strategic 2035 target of 900 megawatts in electrolysis capacity, with an intended annual output of over 130,000 tonnes of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO).
However, the BankWatch report highlights that production is unlikely to start until 2030.
Orlen is prioritising the decarbonisation of its own industrial processes, which will require an estimated 350,000 tonnes of RFNBO annually. Of its total production, only 12,000 tonnes will be produced exclusively for the transport sector.
Poland is currently Europe’s third largest hydrogen producer, with an annual output capacity of 1.1 million tones. Over 97% of Poland’s hydrogen is derived from fossil gas through steam methane forming.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
