Orlen starts construction Poland’s first bioLNG refuelling network

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Polish state energy giant Orlen has begun building the first part in a planned network of 21 stations for refuelling vehicles with bioLNG – a renewable fuel produced from organic waste – as the firm seeks to move away from fossil fuels

The first station is due to open in the second half of 2026 in Płock, central Poland, where Orlen is headquartered. Initially, it will serve Orlen’s own fleet before being opened to external customers.

The company, which is Poland’s largest firm and runs the country’s biggest network of petrol stations, claims there is a strong interest from heavy transport firms in switching fleets to bioLNG-powered vehicles, provided refuelling facilities are widely available.

BioLNG, or liquefied biomethane, is a renewable fuel that produces fewer carbon emissions than conventional fossil fuels. It is made by processing organic waste such as manure, sewage and household or industrial waste.

The Płock site will serve as a pilot project and a model for further locations. It will have a tank capable of storing up to 23 tonnes of nitrogen-cooled bioLNG, along with safety and distribution systems.

Design work is underway on two additional stations, in Zgorzelec and Ostrów Wielkopolski, with construction expected to start next year.

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Grzegorz Bujnowski, Orlen’s executive director for gas trading, who oversees its biogas and biomethane business, hopes that the project will “become a model for other countries in the region”.

“The construction of the first bioLNG station in Poland in Płock is the beginning of a larger change that will strongly support Orlen in its pursuit of becoming a leader in the green transformation in the fuel sector,” said Bujnowski, quoted by the Strefa Biznesu news service.

In July, Orlen announced that its subsidiary PGNiG BioEvolution was building Poland’s first biomethane plant with a bioLNG module in Głąbów.

The project is expected to produce more than 7 million cubic metres of biomethane a year, to be converted into fuel for heavy goods vehicles. The investment costs are estimated at 180 million zloty (€43 million).

The developments are part of Orlen’s strategy, unveiled earlier this year, to have more than 25% of its fuel offering come from renewable sources within a decade.

The firm has also been investing in hydrogen energy projects. In June, it secured more than 1.7 billion zloty in grants from European Union funds for that purpose.

Orlen is also developing a network of hydrogen refuelling stations for buses, trucks and passenger vehicles. It opened its first public hydrogen station in Poznań last year. Two more have since followed, the most recent opening in Wałbrzych in July this year.

By the end of this decade, Orlen aims to have 111 hydrogen refuelling stations operating in Poland (57), the Czech Republic (28) and Slovakia (26).

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Orlen (press materials)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.