Speaking after a meeting in London with his British counterpart, David Lammy, he posted a video message on Facebook saying they had agreed to launch strategic bilateral cooperation to help “ensure that small modular reactors (SMRs) can be used as soon as possible”.

He said Hungary was ready to participate in the development of SMR technology and “would clearly be interested in using this technology, since we are a landlocked country … for us nuclear energy is the real solution and Rolls-Royce here in Great Britain is one of the world’s leading companies in the development of small modular reactors”. 

The foreign minister said Hungary had been “very sorry” to see the UK leave the European Union, because it meant “a good deal of common sense” left Brussels, and he supported the closest possible relations between the UK and the European Union.

He said there was mutual respect between the countries – despite differences on various geopolitical issues – and they had both supported nuclear energy in recent years.

Background

 

Hungary currently has four units operating at the Paks nuclear power plant. They are VVER-440 reactors that started up between 1982 and 1987 and they produce about half of the country’s electricity. Their design lifetime was for 30 years but that was extended in 2005 by 20 years to between 2032 and 2037. In December 2022, the Hungarian Parliament approved a proposal to further extend their lifespan, which means the plant could keep operating into the 2050s.

The Paks II project, which will feature two Russian VVER-1200 reactors, is currently under way, with preparatory groundwork taking place and a projected connection to the grid around 2030.

Rolls-Royce SMR is hoping to be selected in the on-going Great British Nuclear process to select SMR technology to back in the UK. It also has a growing number of potential orders outside of the UK, including plans being worked up for up to 3 GW of capacity in the Czech Republic, whose nuclear power operator ČEZ Group has taken a 20% stake in the company.

The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. 90% of the SMR – measuring about 16 metres by 4 metres – will be built in factory conditions, limiting on-site activity primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested, modules which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.