Budimex completed the R&D centre of PKN ORLEN in Płock

7,100 square metres of concrete, 180 kilometres of wiring, 750 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 22 kilometres of pipelines. Budimex completed its work and the R&D Centre was handed over to the investor, PKN ORLEN. The contract value is about PLN 167 million net.

The contract with the investor was signed in April 2019. The project was carried out in the EPC system (engineering, procurement, construction). Apart from carrying out design work, the task of Budimex was also to construct and equip buildings in the Centre on a turnkey basis and start up the delivered equipment, such as measurement and laboratory equipment. The aim of the R&B Centre in Płock is to take action to develop the oil refining and petroleum industry, implement new technical solutions and work on new technologies and products. The Centre will also improve and optimise processes which are already in progress.

- In accordance with the investor’s expectations and the desired functions, the group of buildings which make up the R&D Centre had to be adjusted to the specific nature of research carried out in the oil refining and petroleum industry and had to meet the highest construction standards. As a general contractor with extensive experience, Budimex managed to meet all technological and time-related expectations of the investor. The scale of the project is reflected by the huge amounts of materials used to construct the Centre – to build it, we used 750 tonnes of steel, which is 3 times the total weight of the Statue of Liberty - says Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex S.A.

The project includes eight buildings. These office and industrial buildings combine research and warehouse functions and include a technical building with a laboratory, research and testing facilities with a hall for projections and pilot runs with an area of almost 2,000 square metres, as well as a testing and raw material warehouse. The scope of the project also included the construction of an external warehouse with an installation for preparing mixes of fuels, an office building with administrative facilities for the whole Centre, and the required technical infrastructure. Construction works carried out by Budimex included building infrastructure in the vicinity of the buildings: internal roads, car parks and vehicle manoeuvre areas. The R&B Centre is situated on an area of 43,000 square metres. Unused land will make it possible to expand the facilities in the future.

- The R&B Centre is supplied with environmentally-friendly electricity. The Centre has modern solar panels with automatic snow clearing and a carport (with a total power of 94 kWp), as well as a wind turbine which generates green energy with a power of 2,800 W. The Centre also has a charging station for electric vehicles”, says Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex S.A. “We also built an educational path with interactive installations devoted to the significance of fuels and chemicals in our lives and the direction for the development of this important aspect of life, as well as walls and tables with infographics and a 3D periodic table of elements - adds Artur Popko.

The structure and technology are advanced, which makes it possible to build research installations with a height up to 15 metres. Moreover, the Centre has a high and low temperature environmental chamber, an engine test bed and technologically advanced facilities, such as two cooling towers, a container boiler room and a compressor, a nitrogen tank and water treatment stations.

The R&D Centre has an Educational Path with:

• A timeline – The History of PKN ORLEN – infographics
• An interactive installation – Petroleum and its products
• Showcases with different types of petroleum with stirrers
• A stand with cross sections of combustion engines and an electric engine – an infographic on a column
• Plastic is not as black as it is painted... The petrochemistry of the future – an interactive wall
• Plastic is not as black as it is painted... The petrochemistry of the future – a multimedia stand with an encyclopaedia application
• Models of chemical compounds + a 3D periodic table of elements with exhibits
• We are looking ahead – an interactive conference table
• ECO zone – alternative raw materials for fuel production
• A pumpjack
• An oil installation model (fractional distillation)
• A photo zone
• Soundproof pipes

The R&D centre of PKN ORLEN is not the only project of this type carried out by Budimex. The general contractor has extensive experience in carrying out research and industrial projects. The most important ones include for example a new block of the Turów power plant, Wielkopolska Center of Advanced Technologies in Poznań, Lidl Logistics Centre in Kałuszyn, Danone Production Plant for Żywiec Zdrój in Wieprz, and Production and Renovation Facilities for Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa in Suszec.