Hungary has been actively expanding its renewable energy sector, especially solar power. In recent years, the Hungarian government has introduced various policies and incentives to promote the development of solar PV projects, leading to a capacity growth that exceeds initial expectations. Additionally, new international development projects were launched in 2024 for geothermal based electricity generation and battery storage technologies in Hungary. Hungary’s ongoing energy transformation programs (coupled with a rapidly growing share of unbalanced renewable resources) creates opportunities for Canadian exporters of smart metering, grid balancing and power storage solutions.
Distributed energy market in Hungary
Key opportunities for Canadian distributed energy companies in Hungary
- Battery storage solutions
- Smart meter solutions
- Grid balancing technologies
- Medium voltage (MV) and high voltage (HV) grid network maintenance and monitoring technologies
Industry highlights
11 541 Megawatts (MW) of installed generation capacity
32.6 TWh of total power generation
32.6 TWh in renewable power generation
24.6% renewables share of Hungary’s total energy portfolio
67 653 km of distribution grid
Notable challenges for Canadian distributed energy companies in Hungary
- Fierce competition from supplier in the European Union (EU)
- Regulated electricity rate for households
- Complex procurement policy of Hungary-based DSOs
Hungary's business landscape
Market background:
In the early 1990’s, Hungary was one of the first Central-East European markets to de-couple its energy sector and fully privatized its power generation, distribution, and utility industries. Following a 2014 decision, the Government of Hungary announced a long-term plan for creating a more balanced private and state owed eco-system in the energy sector. As part of the transition, the Hungarian Government purchased back all utility services and 50% of DSO services from German and French investors between 2014-2020. As of 2020, the Hungarian electricity market had:
- 1 state owned TSO (MAVIR)
- 2 DSOs (E.ON and MVM)
- 1 state owned power utility company (MVM Hungarian Electricity Works)
Energy transition and climate goals:
Hungary published its latest National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) in 2024. The main goal of the NECP is to reduce Hungary’s dependence on imported fossil fuels by transforming its energy sector into a climate neutral economy by 2030–2040. The NECP aims to achieve a 30% share in domestic power generation, and a 50% decrease in GHG emissions by 2040. Hungary’s energy mix in power generation will consist of renewables, nuclear, and natural gas by 2030, and will be completely climate neutral by 2040.
Progresses with the installation of renewable resources:
In general, the Hungarian market has been open to new investments in renewables. Recently announced open tenders are primarily focused on solar PV projects. Based on the industry’s recommendations for creating a more sustainable renewable mix, the Ministry of Energy announced geothermal, biomass and BESS battery energy storage projects in 2024-25. New installations for wind power generation are expected to be announced in 2026-27.
Upcoming projects and events
- ENLIT Europe exhibition (Bilbao, Spain – November 2025)
- Budapest Geothermal Summit (Budapest, Hungary - September 2025)
Summary
Hungary will remain an attractive market for international suppliers of:
- Grid maintenance
- Network monitoring
- BESS energy storage
- Smart grid solutions
The rapidly increasing capacity of installed renewable assets is likely to necessitate additional investments in the modernization of the existing grid infrastructure. This will lead to new energy storage capacities and the deployment of grid balancing solutions in 2025-26.
Based on the latest announcements of the Ministry of Energy, Hungary’s grid battery storage capacity could match the output of a 500 MW unit at the Paks nuclear power plant by the summer of 2026. Storage capacity is projected to reach 1 GW by 2030.
Furthermore, DSOs in Hungary started to invest heavily in the installation of new, complex smart metering solutions both for households and industry in 2024.
For more information on the smart grid sector in Hungary, please contact Gergely Morvai at the Trade Commissioner Service of the Canadian Embassy to Hungary.