Demand for coal falls, Czechia's Severočeské doly supplied 14 million tonnes to the market last year

Demand for lignite continues to decline. Severočeské doly supplied 14 million tonnes to the market last year. The year before, it was 15.64 million tonnes. The company has a mining permit for the Bílina mine near Most until 2030. The company, whose sole shareholder is ČEZ, is not planning any layoffs for now. Severočeské doly spokesman Lukáš Kopecký told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

„Demand for coal products has been declining over the years as a result of ongoing decarbonisation and customers switching to other energy sources. We expect this trend to continue in the coming years,“ Kopecký said.

The expected output for this year is 13.70 million tonnes. Demand for coal rose in 2022 after the conflict in Ukraine broke out, when the company supplied customers with 17.76 million tonnes of coal. According to Kopecký, product prices have not changed and are currently at the same level as in 2024.

At the Bílina site, Severočeské doly employs 1,500 people, with a further 1,080 employees at its subsidiaries, bringing the total to 2,580. Severočeské doly has a mining permit for this mine until 2030. „We are not planning any layoffs among our employees for now; recruitment is adjusted according to the needs of our operational departments,“ the spokesman said. ČEZ plans to phase out coal by 2030.

In recent years, archaeologists have investigated the area ahead of the Bílina mine. Archaeologist Petr Čech told ČTK that during 11 years of research, around 2,500 graves were found at the site of a former burial ground. The finds are being processed and will be housed in the Most Museum. Archaeologists also found tonnes of live ammunition from the Second World War. The German army used the site to guard a chemical plant that produced fuel for military equipment near Litvínov in the Most district. After the war, the Czechoslovak army brought ammunition here from the surrounding area. A few years ago, explosive ordnance disposal experts destroyed ten tonnes of this ammunition at the site. According to Kopecký, research is also planned for this year and the years ahead.