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The Hungarian government has allocated HUF 62 billion (EUR 158 million) for energy storage projects with an overall 440 MW in operating power.
Hungarian authorities launched the tender for grid-scale batteries on January 15 and received offers until February 5.
The winning bidders were selected a few days ago. They are set to install around fifty energy storage facilities, the Hungarian Ministry of Energy said.
The selected companies and organizations must complete the installation of batteries by the end of April 2026.
With the successful implementation of the program, domestic energy storage capacity can be increased by about twenty times within two years, the ministry stressed . It added that with current mechanisms it is providing support to households and businesses to produce and store green energy with HUF 200 billion (EUR 510 million) in total.
The government is approving subsidies for the construction and operation of energy storage systems
The subsidies were secured from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the state budget. They consist of non-refundable investment support and income compensation for the construction of industrial energy storage facilities and their operation, respectively, for at least ten years. Operational support is planned to be provided through two-way contracts for difference (CfDs).
With funds obtained within a previous program, the country’s transmission system operator MAVIR is already building a 20 MW energy storage system in Szolnok in central Hungary, the ministry noted.
CATL intends to open a factory in Hungary
Of note, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in October 2023 that Hungary was fourth in global terms in the production of batteries, but that it would soon move up to the second place, Hungary Today reported.
In August 2022, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) announced it would invest EUR 7.34 billion in the construction of a battery plant in Debrecen, Hungary, with 100 GWh in annual capacity. It would be the Chinese company’s second factory in Europe. CATL is the world’s biggest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
A month later, Slovenia-based Andrada Group revealed plans to build a battery recycling plant in Alsózsolca in northeastern Hungary.
The ministry said that Hungary has set its 2030 energy storage goal at 1 GW in the updated National Energy and Climate Plan.
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