Hungary says that Russia’s Rosatom has given reassurances that "in terms of technology they are able to complete the project", with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó looking forward to the construction entering its next phase.

Hungary is committed to the safe and effective management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. However, it noted areas where it could be further enhanced.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's curriculum review at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics concluded the degree programme was "robust" and was "producing graduates with an excellent breadth and depth of knowledge".

 

An application to build the containment building of the first new unit at Hungary's Paks II nuclear power plant has been submitted. Project company Atomerőmű Zrt said it should be approved within 150 days. Meanwhile, Hungary's nuclear regulator has assumed a new, more independent, legal status.

Ministers from Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland (the Visegrad 4) met in Paks and agreed: "Without nuclear power it will not be possible to achieve the goals of climate neutrality." They called on the European Commission to approve its inclusion in the taxonomy of sustainable investments.

The Hungarian parliament has adopted changes to the country's Atomic Act which will give the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority more control over its structure and staffing. The changes appear to be a response to missed deadlines for decision-making on the Paks II new build project.
 

Licensing of the planned Paks II nuclear power plant has been delayed, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has announced. The organisation said it needs more time "to fully verify all requirements," but did not give an updated timeline for approval to construct the new reactors.

Hungary will start repaying the Russian loan for the Paks II project in 2031, five years later than originally agreed, Hungary's Finance Ministry has announced. This amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for the EUR12.5 billion (USD15.1 billion) project means that income from the new nuclear power plant can help repay the loan, but it does not change the rate of interest on the loan nor the option to pay it off early, it added.

Hungary is now the sixth European country to bring forward its coal phaseout plan, announcing that it will shut its last remaining coal plant in 2025. Meanwhile Poland says its first nuclear power unit will be built in Gdansk and the second one probably at the site of its Belchatów coal plant.

TVEL, the nuclear fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom, has loaded a batch of fresh fuel, including 18 fuel bundles of its new modification, into unit 3 of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary. The new fuel will be introduced at all four units operating at Paks, with the number of new-modification bundles in each refuelling to be increased gradually.

The Hungarian Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has approved Atomerőmű Zrt's plan to construct two VVER-1200 reactors at the existing Paks nuclear power plant site. A construction licence for the Paks II project is required from the nuclear regulator, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority, before building work can start.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics has become the seventh university in the world to offer a programme as part of the International Nuclear Management Academy, which is endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. During a webinar hosted by the IAEA last week, Professor Attila Aszódi, BME programme executive, described the importance of this achievement.