State-owned Hungarian energy group MVM has made the “green transition” one of the pillars of its new strategy and aims to become the region’s leading energy company by 2035.
CEO Károly Matrai, in an interview with Index.hu published on 24 January, announced the Company’s plans to expand in the Balkans.
In the next 10-12 years, MVM plans to make infrastructure investments that will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving towards carbon neutrality, Mr. Matrai told the news portal. He added:
“We’re going to undertake power plant and grid upgrade investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% until 2035.”
The emergence of new energy-intensive industries requires an increase in energy production, helped by the extension of the lifetime of all four units (500 MW each) of Hungary’s sole Paks NPP and the construction of two new units (1,200 MW each), he added. In the long term, Hungary could have several more small modular reactors.
Serbia, Romania and the Balkans could become regional expansion centres for MVM, but it is possible that MVM will tie up LNG capacity in Germany or Poland. The company has 1.5 million retail customers in the Czech Republic, where it has 40 per cent of the natural gas market, and 10 per cent in Slovakia, but MVM’s main market is Hungary.
The company, which has one of the largest embedded solar capacities in Hungary, intends to increase its portfolio by a further 3,000 MW, which will reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy sources and increase energy sovereignty. Mr. Matrai added:
“In addition to regulated businesses such as transmission system operation, running distribution networks or gas storage, we want to build a strong portfolio of market products to establish a healthy balance.”
The head of MVM said that the company is working on an IPO on the Budapest Stock Exchange. Asked about the maturity stage, he said that the company is on a 30-kilometre stone if it were a marathon (which is 42 kilometres long).
MVM was already present on the international capital markets, having issued one bond on the Budapest Stock Exchange and two on Euronext Dublin.
In June, the company issued $750m Dublin-listed green bonds to finance the green transition.
MVM Group is the second largest company in Hungary and among the top 15 in Central Europe, with a presence in 23 countries and more than 120 companies employing 18,000 people. It posted a profit of HUF 72bn (€190m) on revenue of HUF 7.6 trillion in 2022.
The company is the exclusive supplier of electricity and gas to households and holds 50% of the gas market for industrial customers. Its subsidiaries provide 70 per cent of Hungary’s electricity generation and the Paks nuclear power plant accounts for 50 per cent. The company is also one of the largest producers of renewable energy.
