The Empire
Twenty years at the heart of Polish energy. Since 2003, Maksymilian Górniak built, traded and structured the country's largest energy assets — from generation, through trading, to transmission and distribution.
He served on the management and supervisory boards of Poland's largest energy companies, including ENEA S.A. He introduced the global EFET standard contracts to the Polish market, with protective clauses that shielded BOT Górnictwo i Energetyka (today PGE) during the 2008 crisis. He acquired the only operable cross-border power line connecting Poland, Belarus and Russia, negotiating terms at the ministerial level of three states.
The empire builder
The Trial
When everything was taken
In 2017, everything collapsed. Detained, imprisoned — and held in pre-trial detention for years, without an indictment.
The system that was meant to judge him simply held him. He lost his freedom. He lost his companies. He lost the fortune he had built over a decade. Year after year passed behind bars — without a verdict, without a trial that would ever end.
He walked out in 2023. And in the end the proceedings were overturned and discontinued in full — completely cleared. Never convicted. He left with nothing — but clean.
"You can take everything from a man — except who he is."Act II
A single line
An entire career as one curve of energy: a rise, a sudden fall, and a climb again.
The Road
Empire 2.0
Today he is building again — and bigger. Poland as the energy-storage manufacturing hub for all of Central and Eastern Europe.
Four areas — all within energy: biogas, biomethane, energy storage (BESS), and artificial intelligence that orchestrates the entire grid in one intelligent system.
This is only the beginning.Act III — Now
The best is yet to come
The goal
Poland as the energy-storage manufacturing hub for Central and Eastern Europe.
Empire 2.0 · under construction
Frequently asked
Who is Maksymilian Górniak?
A Polish energy executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years in the power sector (since 2003). He served on the management and supervisory boards of Poland's largest energy companies, including ENEA S.A. Today he works across four areas, all within energy: biogas, biomethane, energy storage (BESS), and artificial intelligence.
What did he build in the energy sector?
Of the three major power blocks built in Poland over the last 30 years, two were created with his significant involvement: the 1,075 MW unit at Kozienice and the 980 MW unit at Bełchatów. He introduced EFET contracts to the Polish market and scaled ROCA TRADE to roughly PLN 1.5 billion in revenue in a year.
What happened to him?
In 2017 he was detained and held in pre-trial detention for years without an indictment. He lost his companies and his fortune. The proceedings were ultimately overturned and discontinued in full — he was never convicted.
What is he doing today?
He is building again, all within energy: biogas, biomethane, energy storage (BESS), and artificial intelligence orchestrating the grid. The goal: Poland as the energy-storage manufacturing hub for Central and Eastern Europe.