Innovation capital

In response to present challenges, PGNiG is looking for new technological solutions and supports the work and professional development of innovators. The Group encourages and rewards intra-Group initiatives, but has also developed a system which generates innovation by tapping the potential of human resources in academic centres and in other businesses, including start-ups.

We support new entrants in the tech business, offering the expertise, technical infrastructure, office space, administration and operational assistance (including in the field of law and economics) as part of the InnVento business incubator project. Our services are based on the expertise of our staff.

Green technologies and products are one of the key drivers of innovation across the Group. It is PGNiG’s intention to become Poland’s leader in hydrogen technologies. PGNiG continued its work commenced in 2020 on projects enabling the use of hydrogen across the Group’s business segments. The company is exploring the possibilities of storing and transmitting hydrogen through the gas network. Hydrogen – Clean Fuel for the Future is PGNiG’s new comprehensive hydrogen programme consisting of several projects ranging from ‘green hydrogen’ production, through hydrogen storage and distribution, to industrial power generation applications. The programme consists of several elements:

• InGrid Project – an off-grid research network to add green hydrogen to natural gas and to test the impact of hydrogen on gas infrastructure of the distribution network,
• H2020 – project to construct underground hydrogen storage facilities with the use of salt caverns,
• Blue H2 – a project launched in 2021 to support the development of a blue hydrogen production technology based on reforming natural gas integrated with a CO₂ capture unit, adaptable to the characteristics of the market product and enabling hydrogen storage.

The development activities model which has been deployed and followed at PGNiG is among the most extensive and up-to-date R&D&I systems currently in place at large Polish companies. The solutions developed under the model are designed to be commercialised as soon as practicable, leading to tangible financial gains over the short-, mid- and long-term horizon.

In 2021, a total 106 innovation projects worth approximately PLN 333m were under way at the PGNiG Group.

The Group’s main area of impact on its social environment, involving the use of its innovation capital, are education and scientific research. The Company has partnered with universities and vocational schools to prepare highly qualified human resources for itself (so as to manage the generation gap) and works with partners in large research and academic centres to further drive innovation.

As one of the very first companies in Poland, we tailored our training and recruitment system to bring it in line with the industrial doctorate programme. In addition, over the last ten years PGNiG Termika has partnered with secondary schools under the ‘We Encourage Learning’ programme, offering scholarships to the best students.