Wałbrzych, Poland, wants to turn plastic into hydrogen

Instead of incinerating them, the former coal mining city plans to derive energy from non-recyclable plastics

Wałbrzych wants to produce hydrogen from plastic waste. The Polish commune has started collaboration with a international company that turns non-recyclable plastic into hydrogen. The objective: construct a processing plant with a capacity of up to 35 tons of fuels, with a refuelling station, informs the Association of Polish cities.

An agreement, not only on paper

The former mining city of Wałbrzych has certainly turned the page on its coal past. To make this even more clear and symbolical, last Friday the mayor of the city - Roman Szełemej – visited a former coal mine now turned into an exhibition centre.

There, he signed a letter of intent with Hydropolis – a Polish branch of Hydrogen Utopia International. The letter previews an analysis of the possibility of implementing a joint investment in the construction of a plant that converts plastic waste into 99.9% pure hydrogen, electricity or heat. The two institutions will then apply jointly for funding, including European, for the construction of the said plant.

According to Miasta.pl, the prospective plant would be capable of processing more or less the entire amount of plastic that the city produces, turning it into hydrogen and electricity, rather than waste – the quantity amounts to roughly 13 000 tons annually.

Speaking at the ceremony, the mayor claimed that his city is a pioneer in the fight against plastic, having launched a campaign against it in 2019 and purchased 20 hydrogen-powered buses for its public transport fleet.

The benefit of this collaboration for the city would be fewer amounts of otherwise non-recyclable plastic turning into waste. On top of that, the city will save from the costs of this disposal and the transportation of waste.

Later on, speaking for Proactive Investors, the chief executive of Hydrogen Utopia International Aleksandra Binkowska affirmed that the local authorities were more than just interested in exploring the possibilities that hydrogen could bring to the region. For his part, the mayor claimed he would immediately form a team to explore the details (such as funding mechanisms, land and planning).

The technology that Hydrogen Utopia offers is arguably emissions-free. Moreover, among many other offers from other companies that the Mayor has reportedly reviewed, he picked the only one that does not involve the incineration of plastic waste as this is considered no longer acceptable in his city.