Poles are second only to China in the production of lithium-ion batteries. The is US is third. However, Europe as a whole is lagging behind, so the PGE Group is calling for support for energy storage of various types, because it wants to build the largest battery of this type in Żarnowiec, where in the past Poland’s first NPP was supposed to have been built.
„Last year, Poland overtook the USA and has the second largest production capacity of lithium-ion batteries. At present, we are only behind China,” said Wanda Buk, Vice-President of PGE, at the Politico Competitive Europe conference, during which she spoke on behalf of the Polish Electricity Association responsible for representing Poland’s energy sector. „But we cannot say the EU is successful at this once we realize that only about 14 percent of the world’s battery capacity is produced in the EU, while China accounts for 77 percent of the global production,” Buk said.
PGE is to build the largest battery energy storage facility in Europe in Żarnowiec with a capacity of at least 820 MWh. It plans to build a total of at least 800 MW by 2030. PGE also urges for national and EU regulations to support energy storage.
During the communist era in Poland, Żarnowiec was picked as the site where the country’s first NPP would be built. The project was abandoned after Poland regained freedom. Currently, Poles want to build a nuclear power plant in Pomerania in Lubiatowo-Kopalino. PGE and other companies are also planning offshore wind farms in the Baltic, the surplus energy of which could go to the battery storage facility in Żarnowiec.
Wojciech Jakóbik