Supporting Large-Scale Hydrogen Mobility Deployment in Poland

Our client is one of the largest multi-energy companies in Central and Eastern Europe, boasting an extensive asset base encompassing refining, petrochemicals, energy generation, and retail fuels. 

Committed to the ambitious expansion of hydrogen technologies, a cornerstone of its 2030 and 2050 climate roadmaps, the company partnered with Civitta to secure EU funding for one of the region’s most significant hydrogen mobility programs.

This project was crucial for the company’s 2030 hydrogen strategy; without EU co-funding, the necessary infrastructure deployment would have faced considerable delays. Success required demonstrating robust socio-economic justification, ensuring full regulatory compliance, and clearly aligning the proposal with the Green Deal, AFIR (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation), and CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) priorities.

A significant challenge was achieving site-level compliance, which extended beyond EU and national standards to include the specific mandates of local environmental and water management bodies. This required the preparation of detailed approval applications for these authorities, along with their comprehensive translations, to fully satisfy all formal and procedural requirements.

Specific Challanges: 

– Tight Deadlines: A significant time constraint existed for the comprehensive preparation of the CEF AFIF application, which had to cover all technical, financial, and environmental documentation across 17 distinct locations.

– Regulatory Volatility: The need for continuous project concept updates, compliance checks, and documentation revisions was driven by rapidly changing EU and national regulatory frameworks.

– Complex Corporate Governance: The client’s nature as a large corporation necessitated navigating a complex governance structure, resulting in protracted, multi-level decision-making processes and requiring extensive involvement, review, approval, and alignment from numerous internal stakeholders.

We supported the client end-to-end in preparing the full CEF AFIF application.  Throughout the process, we worked in close collaboration coordinating multiple internal teams within a large corporate structure, collecting technical and financial inputs and refining the documentation to ensure a strong submission.

Services provided:

We delivered comprehensive support for the project, encompassing:

• CEF AFIF Application and Analysis: Development of the full application for the Connecting Europe Facility Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (CEF AFIF). This included a complete technical description, detailed financial and economic analysis (Cost-Benefit Analysis – CBA), thorough risk assessment, a comprehensive implementation plan, and the business case for 16 Hydrogen Refueling Stations (HRS) and 1 hydrogen HUB.
• Permitting and Regulatory Documentation: Preparation and translation of detailed approval applications and all necessary supporting documentation for the environmental and water management authorities relevant to each project site.

Quantifiable outcomes

• Secured EUR 62 million in CEF AFIF funding for the project.
• Approval to deploy 16 hydrogen refuelling stations and 1 green hydrogen hub.
• Demonstrated environmental benefits of over 1 million tonnes of CO₂ avoided.

Qualitative benefits

• Positioned the client as a regional frontrunner in hydrogen mobility.
• Delivered a fully compliant, investment-ready project aligned with EU and national regulations.
• Improved internal coordination and strategic clarity around hydrogen investments.
• Made a solid foundation for the client’s 2030 ambition of 100+ HRS and 1 GW of renewable hydrogen capacity, accelerating its transition to clean mobility.

• Lessons Learned
  Clear regulatory alignment and strong documentation are essential for large, multi-location hydrogen projects. Early coordination across technical, legal, and environmental teams reduces risk and improves submission quality. Mobilising all participants early and maintaining clear coordination is crucial for keeping complex projects on track.
• How Civitta’s Expertise Made a Difference
  We transformed a complex hydrogen investment into a strategic, fully compliant, fundable project across 17 locations. Applying a regulatory and permitting lens, combined with structured, data-driven methods, boosted credibility and helped secure record-high AFIF funding. Navigating environmental and water-management requirements was key to success.
• Applicability to Other Clients or Industries
  This approach is transferable to large-scale infrastructure, mobility, renewable energy, and environmental projects, especially multi-site investments like EV charging networks or public transport decarbonisation.