During the International Mobility Portal Summit organised by Mobility Portal Group, Krzysztof Burda, President of the Polish Chamber of Electromobility Development (PIRE), provides an overview of the expansion of the industry’s production in Poland.
Recently, the Polish government concluded public consultations to boost a subsidy programme for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (ZE-HDVs) and their respective chargers.
Burda states: “Around one billion Polish zlotys are expected to be allocated for the production of HDVs and another two billion for charging infrastructure.“
“This could be the solution to meet our objectives, especially in the field of heavy duty vehicles. There, we need more power”, he indicates subsequently.
In Poland, most vehicle stops are located long distances apart, ranging about 14 kilometres apart from each other, or even more.
Therefore, the total investment cost will be much higher for grid connection than for charging devices.
“We have a good plan, but it should become a force immediately, because in April the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) will become law for every country in the European Union (EU), and time is running out“, acknowledges the president of PIRE.
It is worth noting that the AFIR, one of the regulations within the “Fit for 55”, aims to ensure the availability and ease of use of a dense and widespread network of alternative fuel infrastructures throughout the EU.
On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the Polish industry currently does not benefit from subsidies.
According to Burda, there are still ongoing projects from previous subsidies, and indeed stations are still being installed.
“The total amount of investment we expect is over 1.2 billion Polish zlotys in charging infrastructure by 2026. That’s why we don’t have any other subsidy programmes at the moment,” explains Burda.
At the national level, Poland has around six thousand hubs, of which direct current (DC) charging hubs outnumber alternating current (AC) ones.
The main reasons are that these stations were funded and also that companies see the potential in DC stations due to their networks and installations in the city.
While the Polish market is still at an early stage of development, rapid growth in electromobility can now be foreseen.
PIRE’s initiatives are related to continuing to stimulate sustainable transportation.
“Promoting and advising companies is really necessary. Education, especially for companies not involved in electromobility, is really important, and we’re working on that,” says Burda.
And he continues: “Electric mobility is a completely new branch of the economy with great potential in Poland, becoming one of the largest battery cell production markets in the world.”
From the Polish Chamber of Electromobility Development, they see significant potential for evolution in terms of new technologies related to sustainability in emerging sectors.
On this, the executive comments: “This year we started the eMobility incubator for technology company startups, and now we are focusing on building the ecosystem: founders, expert mentors, venture capital funds (VC), among others, to help market growth and build a good economy.”
About PIRE
PIRE is a non-profit organization that associates entities operating in the electric mobility industry to boost sector development in cities.
Together with local governments and businesses, it creates the right conditions for current combustion vehicle users to safely and comfortably switch to electric vehicles.
With years of participation in the market, they aim to share knowledge and experience and build the foundation for zero-emission transportation development.
To achieve this, they organize conferences, training sessions, and webinars.
Some of their key affiliates include Mobility Portal, CHARIN, EV Pilot City Programme, IEA, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Energy Storage Association (PSME), the Educational Research Institute (IBE), and Drive to Zero.
Other partners are the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Łukasiewicz Research Network, the United Nations Global Compact, the European Clean Trucking Alliance, V8 Team, among others.
Encouraging the establishment of a commemoration for International Electromobility Day on September 25th, PIRE will lead for the third time this year’s the eMobi Road to COP expedition, which promotes Poland’s contribution to the use of zero-emission cars as a means of long-distance transportation.
The 2024 edition, titled “10,000 Kilometers of Good Energy“, aims to cover the longest distance possible between the COP host cities: Warsaw – Katowice – Glasgow and Rome as a partner of this year’s climate conference.
The race includes European capitals such as Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Ljubljana, Rome, Vatican City, Berlin, Brussels, and London.
The participation of Krzysztof Burda during the International Mobility Portal Summit:
