During the opening of the second day of the conference, Vice-Minister Zyska pointed out that Polish energy sector is facing major changes, mostly concerning energy production. We are placing increasing emphasis on the rational and sustainable use of natural resources. The climate policy pursued by the European Union assumes, among other things, increasing energy production based on renewable energy sources and developing zero- and low-emission transport.

Hydrogen is the answer to these climate targets, which is used as an energy source in many industries. We need to use its potential for the sake of a safer and greener energy sector, which in the long term will enable faster growth of many areas of the Polish economy, he added.

Hydrogen will gradually become one of the key energy sources used in the European Union and - in the near future - also in Poland. This is due not only to environmental issues, such as pursuing greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, but also to various opportunities for using this fuel in the energy sector, as well as in industry or transport, the Government Plenipotentiary for RES added.

As Vice-Minister Ireneusz Zyska pointed out, during the transition period, we should not say no to any of the ways of making hydrogen and offer the best possible conditions to ensure the dynamic growth of this sector.

The government supports the direction set out by the European Commission in the European Union hydrogen strategy. The development of the hydrogen economy is not only an important component of the EU's strategy to achieve climate neutrality, but in the shorter term - an important opportunity in the context of economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we believe that the key issue should be to reduce the level of CO2 emissions from hydrogen production, rather than choosing one particular technology. Poland is researching and supporting the development of various methods of producing and using hydrogen, which bring positive economic and environmental effects, he claimed.

The Vice-Minister pointed out that Poland is actively taking steps to follow the path of the development of the hydrogen economy. On 7 July 2020, the Letter of Intent to Establish a Partnership for Building a Hydrogen Economy and to Conclude a Sectoral Hydrogen Agreement was signed at the Ministry of Climate by key players in the energy and transport industries.

This is the first step towards developing and signing a sectoral agreement - the Polish Hydrogen Agreement, which will define a list of long-term actions for the development of this industry. Entities that have joined this initiative will present projects that are to be included in the National Hydrogen Investment Plan, he pointed out.