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.

The Gro­up-wi­de Ta­lent Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion Sy­stem se­rves to iden­ti­fy hi­gh-po­ten­tial em­ploy­ees to in­c­lu­de them in the Fu­tu­re Le­aders Aca­de­my pro­fes­sio­nal de­ve­lop­ment pro­gram­me, which pa­ves the way for ta­len­ted em­ploy­ees to as­su­me key func­tions wi­thin the or­ga­ni­sa­tion, in­c­lu­ding ma­na­ge­rial po­si­tions.

One of the key threads in the development of innovation in the Group are ecological technologies and products. PGNiG intends to become the national leader in hydrogen technologies. In 2020, PGNiG started work on projects to use hydrogen in the energy and automotive sectors. He is investigating the possibility of storing and transporting hydrogen through the gas network. Hydrogen – Clean Fuel for the Future is a new comprehensive hydrogen program by PGNiG, which consists of several projects – from the production of „green hydrogen”, through its storage and distribution, to its use in industrial energy. The program consists of several elements:

• Hydra Tank project – research station for refueling vehicles with hydrogen,
• InGrid – Power to Gas project – production of hydrogen using renewable energy. Investigation of the possibility of hydrogen transmission with the use of natural gas distribution networks,
• New Fuel Lab – hydrogen purity analysis and research on alternative fuels,
• Hydrogen storage – the use of underground gas storage facilities for hydrogen storage,
• Power industry – the use of hydrogen in industrial power engineering.

The de­ve­lop­ment ac­ti­vi­ties mo­del which has be­en de­ploy­ed and fol­lo­wed at PGNIG SA 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 2020, a total 150 innovation projects worth approximately PLN 515m were underway at the PGNiG Group.

The Gro­up’s ma­in area of im­pact on its so­cial envi­ron­ment, in­vo­lving the use of its in­no­va­ti­ve 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.