SPMO Meeting at the Sieraków Manor in Dobczyce
Oct 8, 2026
On October 1-2, a meeting of the Association members took place at the Dwór Sieraków hotel in Dobczyce.
At the beginning, invited guests from the Polish Biometane Organization and Blue Projekt Sp. z o.o. gave presentations on the state of the biometane market’s development, business models for biometane production in Poland, and the benefits of connecting plants to alternative gaseous fuels. After the discussion, the president of SPMO T. Biliński moved on to issues related to the association’s activities and contacts with PRE. He discussed the preparations for organizing the PRE Congress on June 30 – July 2, 2027, in Krakow. He presented the program, budget, and sponsorship matters. The proposed suggestions were accepted, and regarding sponsorship it was agreed that its scope would be subject to individual arrangements with plant management.
Then he discussed the conditions for obtaining compensation for indirect costs by the refractory materials industry. The minimum value of the indirect cost emission intensity indicator (IEI) for the refractory materials sector, set by the European Commission, is 0.32. The value calculated for the period 2016–2023 was lower. Broader data collection on electricity consumption carried out at the PRE level is necessary. This topic will be discussed soon at meetings of the PRE Technical Committee and the PRE Executive Committee.
The President of SPMO also commented on the proposal to review the system for setting benchmark indicators within the ETS. He noted that the adjustment of indicators for 2026–2030 assumes limited improvements for fuel and heat indicators and does not foresee the introduction of a sectoral indicator for refractory materials. The use of general substitute indicators will lead to a reduction in their value by about 18%. The Ceramic Union, PRE and SPMO prepared a note regarding the introduction of sectoral reference indicators in 2026. SPMO requested support for this initiative. . The Ceramic Union PRE and SPMO developed a note regarding the introduction of sectoral reference indicators in 2026. SPMO reached out to several Polish MEPs and the permanent representative of the Polish government in Brussels for support for this initiative.
SPMO Secretary J. Czechowski presented statistical data on the production and sales of refractory materials in Poland in 2025, as well as according to PRE data. He noted a decrease in both the quantity and value of refractory materials since 2021, both in Poland and in the aggregated data for PRE members.
J. Czechowski informed about the work of the Task Force on Standardization of the World Refractories Association (WRA) and the proposal to cover costs related to cooperation with Forschung Gemeinschaft Feuerfest (FGF) by the Task Force participants.