From coal to cool… the nations rewriting their (green) energy story

There was a time when smoke on the skyline meant progress. When warmth rose from the ground and the coalfields beat like the heart of a nation.

In countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, coal wasn’t just a fuel, it was a way of life. It powered factories and futures, heated homes and fed heating systems that stretched across entire cities.

But even the most deep-rooted traditions can be transformed. As the clatter of coal begins to fade, another rhythm is rising – quieter, cleaner, and smarter.

Rewriting a coal-fired legacy

Post-war growth saw coal become the cornerstone of Eastern Europe’s energy systems. From Poland’s vast heating networks to Czechia’s industrial might, coal became the backbone of the economy and energy supply. But things began to shift in the 1990s, as old mines closed and cleaner alternatives crept in. EU accession added fuel to the fire, accelerating modernisation, emissions cuts, and a shift towards sustainable heat.

In fact, here’s just some of the innovative projects we’re developing across those countries:

Poland

• Heat recovery at ArcelorMittal
  In a pioneering collaboration, E.ON and ArcelorMittal have introduced a cutting-edge heat recovery system that captures waste energy and returns it to the production process, delivering major energy savings, lowering emissions (cutting 56,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually), and improving supply resilience in steel manufacturing. That’s 117 GWh of recovered energy — equal to the gas use of over 10,000 UK homes.
• Fifth-generation heat network, Szczecin
  In the Lasztownia district, an ultra-low-temperature system based on ectogrid™ technology recycles waste heat and balances supply and demand through energy sharing between buildings.
• Industrial heat reuse at Walstead
  At the Starachowice printing facility, excess heat from the presses is captured and fed back into the local heating network – cutting emissions and coal consumption dramatically and proving industry can warm more than just its machines.

Czech Republic

• Vranov Hydropower
  The Vranov hydroelectric plant has stood strong for nearly a century, and now it's greener than ever. A new indoor battery system (Czechia’s first of its kind!) helps to store its clean power, feeding back to customers during higher demand periods.
• Battery storage at Mydlovary
  Czechia’s first large-scale battery storage facility is already transforming the grid. It stores renewable power, acts as backup in outages, and even balances voltage.
• Vehicle-to-Everything with V4Grid
  With the V4Grid project, we’re exploring how EVs can give back to the grid. Whether it’s powering homes (V2H), buildings (V2B) or stabilising the grid itself (V2G), this tech could redefine mobility and energy resilience.

Hungary

• Europe’s largest rooftop solar system
  In Győr, we worked with Audi to install 35,000 solar panels across their factory roof – covering a whopping 160,000m² (or 22 full sized football pitches!) The clean electricity generated can power 5,000 homes and prevent 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. It’s a giant leap for solar, and a blueprint for sustainable industry.

• Battery storage in Budapest
  We’re installing a battery that can store the energy from 350 solar panels on a nearby solar farm in Soroksár, Budapest. To put that in perspective, it holds enough energy to power an electric car for an incredible 43,000 kilometres – the same distance around the Earth's equator.
• Solar power for BMW
  Our team has laid the foundation stone at BMW’s future-focused factory in Debrecen – a solar park the size of 71 football pitches, with a capacity of nearly 45MW, spreading across rooftops, facades, and land surrounding the site.

Meanwhile, back in the UK...

We’re no strangers to bold ideas on heat and power either.

From Citigen — our hidden power station in the City of London that taps geothermal energy 200 metres beneath the streets — to Silvertown, where ectogrid™ technology is being installed for an energy-sharing network that could cut emissions by up to 88% compared to traditional gas boilers.

And further North, as part of a 25-year partnership with Peel Ports Group, we’re installing the UK’s largest roof-mounted solar energy system at the Port of Liverpool, with 63,000 solar panels generating up to 31MW — enough to power the equivalent of 10,000 homes each year. In Scotland, our solar farm at Diageo's packaging site (one of the world's largest producers of spirits and beers), covers an area the size of eight football pitches with 7,700 panels. The array now supplies up to 22% of the site’s annual electricity needs (rising to 60% in summer), cutting carbon emissions by around 830 tonnes a year — the equivalent of powering 2,500 homes.

At a national scale, we’re building one of the UK’s largest battery storage facilities with Quinbrook in South Wales. Capable of storing 230MW of surplus electricity at off-peak times, it’s a crucial step in balancing the grid, cutting reliance on fossil fuels, and making energy more affordable.

A blueprint for the future

From hydropower to heat pumps, solar to smart EV grids — the story of Eastern Europe is no longer one of coal alone.

It’s a powerful reminder that even the most carbon-heavy legacies can be rewritten – with the right investment, innovation and imagination.