Industry 4.0 transformation to decide the global position of Poland in the 21st century

”Security of energy supply and raw materials in an era of the European Green Deal and Polish Deal” was the topic of the first panel at the Silesian Deal Conference, during which the head of government spoke:

The entire Upper Silesia region has lots of potential that can be utilised for Industry 4.0. Coal is the largest treasure of Upper Silesia, but people are an even higher treasure and capital. Coal made the creation of this human capital possible. It is of extreme value, especially during energy transformation. Transformation to Industry 4.0 – or to 5.0 as some people say – will determine the global position of Poland in the 21^st century.

In his speech, the Prime Minister emphasised that he sees energy transformation as a huge opportunity in the modern history of Poland – an opportunity for Poland to achieve energy independence.

Energy transformation as an opportunity to achieve energy independence

”We associate energy independence with coal. And indeed, that was the case in the energy sector not long ago, but not now. More importantly, we were not independent in terms of two other major energy carriers – oil and gas. Being able to move away from these two energy carriers is a huge opportunity in the modern history of Poland,” stressed Mateusz Morawiecki. He also added that such actions are a way of saving several dozens of PLN billions a year, which are now used to import these carriers from abroad.

The head of government also believes that energy transformation is an opportunity to make technological advances. It means large electromobility and automotive investments. Pointing to the need of energy transformation, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki noted that it was the environment that paid the price for coal-based industry. Restoring the functional and environmental values of areas destroyed by the business activities of humankind will require large financial investments.

Upper Silesia as a cluster of low-emission vehicles

In his speech, the Prime Minister also pointed to the plans to develop low-emission vehicles. He stressed that this type of transport is the future of Poland and Europe over the next decade or so. “The Polish Deal includes plans for six sector clusters, which will bring production and educational potential together. In Upper Silesia, we have made plans for a cluster concerning low-emission vehicles and components used to make them,” he said.

Poland is a leader in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. The sales of Polish electrical buses are the highest in Europe already.