Companies in the mining sector face one of the most difficult challenges in their history: preparing for a post-coal economy. Their continued survival and the preservation of thousands of jobs are at stake. Some of these companies have already begun diversifying their operations. They are seeking opportunities to continue this in a new, decarbonized economic model. However, the will to change alone is not enough. Funding and non-financial support from state institutions are needed.
On the left side mining combines, on the right side elements of wind turbines
“This trend is undisputed; no one disputes it anymore. The role of renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important element of the transformation of the energy sector, and we should focus on making the most of this change. So that it also translates into a transformation of our economy and the companies that can participate in this change,” said Mirosław Bendzera, CEO of Famur in Katowice, during a debate devoted to wind energy at this year’s European Economic Congress.
The company, which has specialized in the production of mining machinery and equipment for over 100 years, supplying contractors worldwide with longwall systems, machinery and equipment for use in roadway systems, as well as electrical engineering and mining equipment, is currently making a “green turn.” A few years ago, it changed its name, but more importantly, it is also changing its portfolio, which now includes – in addition to traditional mining equipment – large-scale photovoltaics, battery systems, solutions for the energy distribution sector, and wind energy.
“Today, as you enter the production hall of our main plant in Piotrowice, you will see mining combines on the left side of the hall, and on the right, wind turbine gearboxes under repair,” Bendzera said during the aforementioned debate.
Famur is one of eight companies in the mining and mining-related industries that received funding from the Silesian Voivodeship last fall, totaling nearly PLN 126 million, to support projects aimed at diversifying “activities dependent on the hard coal mining and conventional energy sectors, and maintaining or creating new jobs.”
For years, they lived off coal. Now they’re focusing on construction, road construction, logistics, and renewable energy.
“The selected projects represent nearly 1,000 jobs, which will also translate into a change in the companies’ business profiles and the introduction of new, improved, and climate-positive products, services, and processes. Thanks to these changes, companies in the region will become more competitive, allowing them to enter new markets,” said Jakub Chełstowski, then-Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship.
As emphasized, this was the first tranche of projects to receive support from the Just Transition Fund, managed by the Marshal’s Office, for business redesign. It was the first, but not the last, as the project pre-selection process began at the end of last year, preceding the announcement of the next call for proposals for this type of project. Interest from regional businesses was significant – over 40 applications were submitted, although Marshal officials are yet to disclose how many companies received the green light to participate in the call itself.
Among the eight companies from last year’s call – in addition to Famur – were also: The Research and Supervision Center (formerly the Underground Mining Research and Development Center), the Katowice-based Mining Information Technology Center (COIG), the Fasing Mining Equipment and Tools Factory, the Tychy-based Automation Systems Assembly and Assembly Company “Carboautomatyka,” and Europejskie Technologie Górnicze, a company specializing in the design and production of mining support components. The latter received the largest grant (nearly PLN 49 million) to diversify its production activities.
“The investment planned for implementation as part of the project (…) aims to expand the company’s product portfolio, including finished metal products used in the construction industry (…), the road sector (including supporting structures for viaducts, crossings, and road mats), and the tunnel sector (including supporting structures for tunnels and rigid tunnel supports). The company will also produce (…) steel sheets and strips, cold-formed hollow sections, and precision tubes,” reads the description of the projects covered by the funding, published by the Silesian Marshal’s Office. As indicated, the implementation of this project will not only maintain the current 46 jobs within the company itself and indirectly with its contractors, but also create another 40 positions. Considering that PKP Polish Railway Lines alone plans to excavate a nearly 4-kilometer tunnel, the longest in Poland, as part of the construction of a new route from Kraków to Nowy Sącz, it can be expected that demand for this type of service will be significant in the coming years.
From the same source, one can learn that the company currently specializing in the production of link chains, including: for hard coal mining, Fasing (the largest company of this type in this part of Europe) wants to enter the market of producers of chains used in industrial halls, warehouses, ports, sidings, storage yards, etc. by purchasing new machines, changing the production technology and retraining its current production staff. Carboautomatyka plans to build a modern plant for the production of electrical devices and apparatus (the project also includes the implementation of a research and development component aimed at developing and introducing new products to the company’s offer), while Famur wants to use this support to develop new technologies and services related to renewable energy, in particular the production and repair of wind turbine and gearbox components.
A Polish Windmill in Two Years? Ambitious Plans for a Katowice-Based Company
“We would be able to build a wind turbine in Poland that would be an alternative to those currently proposed by large international corporations,” Mirosław Bendzera announced during a debate on wind energy at the EEC.
As Famur’s CEO pointed out, based on the assumptions of the National Energy Policy, it can be estimated that by 2040, approximately 2,300-2,500 new 4 MW wind turbines will need to be installed in Poland, in the onshore wind energy sector alone. These turbines will need to be serviced, operated, overhauled, monitored, and continuously maintained in full operational condition in the coming years.
“It would be good if we could keep as much of this component, both service and industrial, in Poland as possible. Analyzing the entire supply chain related to Polish wind turbine production, we identified that almost 70-75% of the production costs are incurred in Poland.” We are able to locate the necessary elements, both production and service-related, within the country, based on our suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers,” Bendzera stated, emphasizing the importance of launching such production both for the transformation of a region such as Silesia, which has been so strongly linked to traditional energy, and for the activation of economic sectors that remain virtually dormant in Poland today.
“The engineering and technical potential we have, which can be redirected from traditional technologies to technologies related to green solutions, is very large. I advocate leveraging this experience, production base, and human potential to the fullest extent possible to enable a smooth transition from competencies previously focused on conventional energy to renewable energy,” Bendzera later explained.
According to Famur’s management, the Polish wind turbine could be completed within two years, provided that the Katowice-based company manages to cooperate with one of the large players in the energy sector to practically verify the operation of this device.
Big money to support the transformation, but the needs are even greater
The vast majority of mining companies that received funding for diversifying their business activities in last year’s call for proposals have already signed relevant agreements with the Silesian Center for Entrepreneurship, which serves as the intermediary institution for the European Funds for Silesia 2021-2027 Program. Only Tauron Polska Energia, which was supposed to receive nearly PLN 9.5 million to establish a Center for New Competencies providing training services in renewable energy and digitalization in the energy sector, withdrew. This means that the funds are being returned to the pool and will be available to entities that participate in subsequent calls for proposals.
“This is a source that can positively stimulate the development of green energy technologies. We should take advantage of it. These funds are intended to accelerate this type of development,” says Mirosław Bendzera, CEO of Famur, in the context of funding from the Just Transition Fund.
It’s debatable, of course, how much this source actually benefits those who need it most. The current regional program for the Silesian Voivodeship has allocated nearly half a billion zlotys for the transformation of mining-related businesses (after last year’s recruitment, approximately 316 million zlotys remained to be distributed, and considering Tauron’s failure to sign the agreement, this amount reaches approximately 325 million zlotys). This may seem impressive at first glance, although considering the scale of this sector in the region (more on this in the box below), one might seriously question how well it meets actual needs. As a reminder, the entire budget of the Just Transition Fund in the Silesian Voivodeship reaches €2.2 billion, meaning that the share of funds allocated to support mining-related companies fleeing the axe represents just over 5% of the total pool.
Mining-related companies employ more people than the mining industry itself.
The exact size of the mining-related sector has not been thoroughly researched. A report by the Regional Observatory of the Transformation Process in the Silesian Voivodeship states that (depending on the source) the number of such enterprises ranges from approximately 370 to over 900 (the vast majority are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) and employs between 110,000 and 130,000 workers. Regardless of which figure is closer to the truth, there is no doubt that mining-related companies employ approximately twice as many people as mining companies themselves. Importantly, they are not covered by the social contract, and therefore cannot count on any social security benefits. Therefore, mining-related sector employees interviewed for this report see two possible consequences of the energy transition: the need for their company to rebrand or its liquidation (only those whose companies had previously prepared for the challenges of this process indicated no impact). The authors of the study estimate that over the next 30 years of transformation, mining-related enterprises could lose between 26,600 (in the optimistic scenario) and nearly 76,000 (in the pessimistic scenario). They assumed a loss of over 50,000 positions as the “likely” scenario. And one more thing: As can be read in an expert report on the situation of mining-related enterprises in Poland, prepared by the University of Economics in Katowice and commissioned by the Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the degree of financial preparedness of these enterprises for mine closure is low.
“The vast majority of mining-related enterprises do not create reserves, and over 34% of entities have not yet made any investments aimed at acquiring new customers,” the authors of the study wrote.
Are windmills an opportunity for mining companies and miners themselves?
For two years, workers in mines slated for closure have been able to receive free training preparing them for work as wind turbine technicians and service technicians (the first round took place last fall). The “Wind – a Mine of Opportunities” program is being implemented in cooperation with EDF Renewables Polska (a subsidiary of the French state-owned company EDF Renewables operating in the energy sector), the training company Vulcan, and Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalń (Mine Restructuring Company). A total of 60 to approximately 90 mining workers were expected to receive training throughout its duration. In addition to the practical portion, the two-week course also includes learning specialized phrases and topics in English and meetings with wind energy sector experts. The training program is compliant with the standards of the Global Wind Organization, the Office of Technical Inspection, and the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers, meaning that those who complete the course will be able to work in turbine installation and service not only in Poland but also worldwide. Michał Wroński, journalist of the regional website SlaZag.pl
The government’s “Clean Air” program for subsidizing the replacement of old furnaces has undergone a transformation over the past few years. What was initially permitted and subsidized—the installation of new coal furnaces—was quickly withdrawn from the program. A similar move can be expected for gas boilers. An outside observer might ask: how is it possible that solutions touted as environmentally friendly just a few years ago suddenly become unacceptable as environmentally harmful?
Let’s begin by recalling a simple principle. If the government allocates significant subsidies and incentives to subsidize a project, it means that the project itself is either costly or unprofitable. There is no need for financial incentives to purchase gasoline-powered passenger cars, just as there is no need to encourage anyone to build a gold mine where gold is found.
The situation with furnaces and home heating is different. In Poland, which has the largest deposits of hard coal in Europe, heating homes with coal was commonplace for years. Coal mining was profitable. Mining was artificially made unprofitable through administrative methods, including the introduction of a carbon dioxide emissions trading system. As coal prices rose, the poorer segments of society, in particular, used cheaper alternatives for heating, burning waste, garbage, plastics, and so on. This was one of the factors contributing to the persistently poor air quality in many areas of the country. The top locations with the worst air quality were those located in mountain valleys or basins, such as Nowa Ruda, Szczawno-Zdrój, Sucha Beskidzka, Nowy Targ, and Zakopane.
Air pollution due to so-called low emissions was therefore largely economically driven. There were two possible solutions to this situation. The first was to focus on domestic coal, meaning modern furnaces with high combustion efficiency. However, this would require additional investment in the domestic hard coal mining industry, abandoning the mine closure program, and abandoning the financial constraints imposed by the European Union, which artificially made the use of fossil fuels unprofitable.
The second option was to subsidize people to switch from coal and install alternative heating sources in their homes. The government decided to follow the guidelines of the European Union authorities, i.e., adopt this model. When Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the introduction of the “Clean Air” program at a press conference on January 12, 2017, approximately 40% of households in Poland used hard coal for heating. At that time, the sale of coal furnaces that did not meet the highest, fifth-class emission parameters was still completely legal.
A year and a half passed between the commencement of preparatory work at the government level and the launch of the “Clean Air” program. Work began in April 2017. A position of advisory representative for the “Clean Air” program was created. Piotr Woźny, previously Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Digital Affairs, was appointed to this position. The initial assumptions were pluralistic. It was decided that the program would allow for the replacement of old boilers with one of several different heating sources. Therefore, condensing gas boilers, heat pumps, electric heating systems, as well as solid fuel boilers, including coal, biomass, and oil boilers, were permitted. Those constructing new residential buildings were also allowed to apply for subsidies. It’s worth emphasizing that initially, government subsidies were available for purchasing a coal furnace for a newly built villa or cottage.
The “Clean Air” program was announced on June 7, 2018, offering subsidies ranging from 40% to 90% of investment costs. The program was scheduled to launch in early September, but its launch was delayed and actually began on Wednesday, September 19, 2018. Initially, applications for furnace replacement funding were accepted in both traditional paper and electronic formats. It’s worth noting that the former is more understandable and natural for many older adults.
According to a report by the Institute of Environmental Economics, at that time, approximately 3.8 million households in Poland used coal for heating. Estimates indicated that this represented approximately 70% of single-family homes. Of these, approximately 1.5 million furnaces were old, manual boilers, considered a major source of pollution. Therefore, there was much to replace.
In its first calendar year, the “Clean Air” program had a significant shortcoming. The subsidy received was treated as income on which tax was payable. After a few months, this rule was abandoned, and the regulations were amended so that, as of January 2019, the subsidy would no longer be included in income.
The first three years of the program’s operation showed that beneficiaries chose various heating sources for their homes. Regarding coal-fired boilers, 2,405 were installed in 2018-2019, and significantly more in 2020, 9,069. By comparison, oil boilers were marginally popular. In 2018 and 2019, a total of only 14 were installed, and in 2020, only 60. Electric heating systems were also rarely installed: 131 in 2018-2019, and 788 in 2020. Few people chose to connect to the district heating network. From September 2018 to the end of 2019, 33 such connections were recorded, and in 2020, slightly more, at 128.
Gas boilers were the most popular during this period, chosen by approximately 40% of those using the “Clean Air” program. Biomass boilers accounted for approximately 25% of completed applications, and coal boilers for 16%. As you can easily calculate, these three types of solid fuel boilers alone covered over 80% of applications. By comparison, heat pumps were chosen by 17% of beneficiaries during this time.
Soon afterward, it turned out that 2021 was the last year in which the installation of high-efficiency coal boilers was eligible for subsidies. Only those who completed their purchase and received their invoice by December 31, 2021, were eligible.
The withdrawal of subsidies for coal-fired boilers was not, of course, a reaction to the publication of any new scientific research on the harmful effects of various types of heating on the air. It was a political decision, another step toward eliminating hard coal.
However, this may not be the end. In mid-April 2024, Dorota Zawadzka-Stępniak, President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, addressed the issue of continued subsidies for gas furnaces under the “Clean Air” program in a statement for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. She stated that the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) is aware that the prospect of a potential withdrawal of subsidies for gas furnaces is causing public dissatisfaction, both among manufacturers of these boilers and among their users. Despite this dissatisfaction, she emphasized the need to consider whether it makes sense to subsidize a technology that will have to be phased out. In her opinion, 2024 is the last moment to decide on further subsidies for gas furnaces under the program.
In other words, gas furnaces will have to be phased out not because of a gas shortage, but because they have been classified as unacceptable heating sources by European Union decision-making bodies. Therefore, gas furnaces may face the same fate as high-efficiency coal furnaces. At first, they were touted as environmentally friendly, and just a few years later, people will face the prospect of having to replace them with something else anyway. As you might guess, with technology that’s more expensive than the current ones. Because if it were cheaper, no one would need to be persuaded to use it through a system of incentives and subsidies. And the latter are ultimately paid for with our taxes anyway.
Finally, a reminder. In 2019, the government estimated that approximately 3 million old furnaces in single-family homes would be replaced over the 10 years of the “Clean Air” program. Current estimates indicate that significantly fewer, around 530,000 furnaces, were replaced after five years. The city of Rybnik tops the list, with 6,481 applications for funding submitted by the end of 2023. Time is running out. Those who haven’t made up their minds yet have increasingly fewer options. They won’t get money for a coal furnace anymore, and soon they probably won’t get money for a gas furnace either…
Tomasz Rzeczycki
Saint Barbara’s Day and mining traditions have the potential to be recognized as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. A joint Polish-Austrian-Luxembourg application has already been submitted to the Secretariat of the 2003 UNESCO Convention and is currently awaiting consideration. Poland’s proposal includes five points: Saint Barbara’s Day celebrations among coal miners in Upper Silesia and Wałbrzych; Saint Barbara’s Day traditions and the cult of St. Kinga among salt miners in Bochnia and Wieliczka; customs associated with the cult of St. Barbara and the traditions of ore miners in the Tarnowskie Góry region; and the cultural traditions of miners’ brass bands in Upper Silesia.
In line for a global certificate of uniqueness
“In the face of the decline of tangible mining cultural heritage, intangible mining heritage is the primary tool for maintaining the identity of ancestors whose work shaped the environment in which its bearers live today. In the face of inevitable economic changes, the sustainability of intangible mining heritage depends on the strength of its bearers.” These two sentences from the motion, submitted to the Secretariat of the 2003 UNESCO Convention at the end of March, can be considered a synthesis of what awaits the mining tradition, shaped over the past several centuries, in the coming years.
Can the customs, culture, and ethos that have developed around a specific economic sector and its employees survive when that industry ceases operations and there are no longer anyone to perform related professions? The signatories of the motion hope that the answer to this question is affirmative. They also hope that the submission of this motion will result in the inscription of St. Barbara’s Day and mining traditions on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This is a prestigious list, where Poland currently has only six elements (five years ago, the Kraków nativity scene was the first to be added, and last year, the polonaise was the last). Among traditions from other parts of the world, you can find such gems as the Brazilian Samba de Roda, Georgian polyphonic singing, Japanese kabuki theater, the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, Turkish dervish dancing, Chinese calligraphy and shadow play, the Dragon Boat Festival on the Yangtze River, Spanish flamenco, the art of Iranian carpet weaving, Portuguese fado, Indian yoga, Cuban rumba, and Jamaican reggae. In short, being on this list is a certificate of exceptionality.
Agreement across borders. Miners from three European countries want to protect their traditions.
The UNESCO application is a joint initiative of Poland, Austria, and Luxembourg. The Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze began work on it five years ago. The same institution coordinated the activities that resulted in the inclusion of the St. Barbara’s Day celebrations of hard coal miners in Upper Silesia on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, maintained by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in cooperation with the National Heritage Institute. Four years later, the list included the St. Barbara’s Day celebrations in Wałbrzych, and in 2023, the traditions of St. Barbara’s Day and the cult of St. Kinga among salt miners in Bochnia and Wieliczka, customs related to the cult of St. Barbara and the traditions of ore miners in the Tarnowskie Góry region, as well as the cultural traditions of miners’ brass bands in Upper Silesia. All five of these elements constitute Poland’s contribution to the joint international application to the Secretariat of the 2003 UNESCO Convention. Coal miners from Upper Silesia and Wałbrzych, salt miners from Bochnia and Wieliczka, descendants of ore miners from Tarnowskie Góry, and members of the Upper Silesian miners’ brass bands contributed to its preparation. Similarly, metal ore, coal, and magnesite miners from Carinthia (Bad Bleiberg) and Styria, as well as iron ore, copper, and slate miners from the Luxembourg regions of Minett, Haut-Martelange, and Stolzembourg, also contributed.
They noted that the annual celebrations in honor of St. Barbara “include religious and secular ceremonies for miners and local communities in mining and post-mining towns.” In this context, they pointed to marches and parades often led by miners’ brass bands, as well as taverns and feasts, during which traditional rituals (such as “jumping over the skin”) take place to introduce candidates to the profession.
“Mining culture also encompasses a sociolect used to communicate during work and to express interpersonal bonds and emotions. Its most common manifestations are greetings used in every country: “God bless you!”, “Glück Auf!”, “Gléck Op!”. The widespread use of sociolect contributed to the development of verbal and musical folklore. The creation of new songs and the modification of existing ones are part of everyday and festive traditions,” the motion states.
Registration is just the beginning. A conservation program is needed: local, regional, national, and international.
The expected inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is scheduled for the December 2025 session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This question is crucial, as the inscription itself will be crucial for preserving the mining tradition.
“We are convinced that the inscription of ‘Barbórka and Mining Traditions’ on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will strengthen the attachment to these values in our community and will set a good example for other traditions in Poland and abroad,” we read in the declarations of consent from the depositaries attached to the UNESCO application.
Among these depositaries are companies from the mining sector, the State Mining Authority, industry trade unions, local associations, retirees’ clubs, miners’ brass bands, local government officials, and clergy. Their attitudes, activities, and commitment will determine the extent to which this optimism expressed on paper will be reflected in reality. A potential inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will require concrete actions related to the protection of St. Barbara’s Day celebrations and mining traditions – documenting them, conducting scientific research, educating them based on the results, and popularizing this holiday.
“This protection program will have to have local, regional, national, and international dimensions. Importantly, its implementation will be monitored,” says Dr. Beata Piecha-van Schagen from the Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in Chorzów, who prepared the application submitted to the Secretariat of the 2003 UNESCO Convention.
Michał Wroński, journalist for the regional website SlaZag.pl
