NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV and Csaba Lantos, Minister of Energy of Hungary.
An NEA delegation led by Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, travelled to Budapest to discuss the latest developments in the Hungarian energy sector with government officials, industry representatives and academia.
Director-General Magwood met with Csaba Lantos, Minister of Energy of Hungary, to discuss the status of the Paks II project, Hungary’s plans for long-term operation of its existing units and the future deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss Hungary’s interest in joining a new collaborative NEA initiative announced during Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2024 which will bring together like-minded countries to pave the way for tripling global nuclear energy capacity and addressing pressing issues in the sector.
Nuclear energy currently provides more than 40% of Hungary’s electricity and the government plans to increase the nuclear share of electricity generation to 60%. As the expansion of Paks nuclear power plant will contribute to this goal, Director-General Magwood met with Gergely Jákli, CEO of Paks II Ltd., and Csaba Kiss, Deputy CEO and CNO of the Hungarian power company, the MVM Group, who provided insights into the Paks II project and updates on the progress, as well as plans for SMR development.
Director-General Magwood and Prof Dr Attila Aszodi, Dean of Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
Enhancing human capacity needed for the future of Hungary’s nuclear sector was a common topic of all the meetings. During a discussion with Prof Dr Attila Aszodi, Dean of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Director-General Magwood presented Plan 2035, an NEA initiative to assist member countries in building the diverse, inclusive and gender-balanced workforce necessary to fulfil their nuclear technology policies.
The discussion with Andrea Kádár, President of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA), focused on the licensing of SMRs and potential co-operation to support more efficient licensing of new technologies while ensuring safety. The meeting provided an opportunity to present the NEA’s work in developing practical paths to enable this vision to be realised.
Meeting with Andrea Kádár, President of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA).
