Hungary ranks 3rd in the world in terms of battery production capacity and the 5th when it comes to exporting the innovate technology. The opportunities and challenges of the fast-developing Hungarian battery industry took center stage of the II. Hungarian Battery Day, organized on 20 October 2022, by the Hungarian Battery Association in cooperation with White Paper Consulting.
The Hungarian government sees a huge potential in the battery industry – as the flagship of the transition of the automotive sector – and its strategic objective is to keep up with the new industry trends by becoming an important player in the battery production value chain. Batteries are also in the spotlight as they support the green transition. The development of energy storage solutions can greatly contribute to the sustainable transformation of the transport and energy industry bringing us closer to our climate objectives.
Kicking off the conference, the Managing Director of the Hungarian Battery Association, Péter Kaderják said that the battery industry is “not only about markets, it is also about people” highlighting that – “great stories are made by people, not institutions.” In addition, Mr. Kaderják said that Hungary is at the forefront of the green transition including the automotive industry.
The battery industry is the fast-growing sector in Hungary – almost doubling investments in the recent years; recording at 7 billion euros in FDI. Consequently, creating 14,000 jobs – with future investments, this figure may rise to 25,000 jobs.
Looking at Hungary’s developments from a long-term angle, the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, said that “the goal of the government is to make Hungary the meeting point of the Western and Eastern economies.” For instance, as highlighted by the Minister flagship German automotive producers such as BMW and Mercedes continue to expand their operations, including EV production, in Hungary.
In terms of state support, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Technology and Industry, Attila Steiner, recalled the government’s recent 16 billion euros investment package and highlighted the importance of the battery industry – “batteries have a competitive advantage”.
Vice President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, highlighted that “impressive progress is being made in the battery ecosystem”, particularly in terms of attracting foreign direct investment in this area.
From a European perspective, Thore Sekkenes, European Battery Alliance Program (EBA) Director showed optimism about the industry if we compare it to what it was in 2017 when it all started. By 2030, the EBA expects to have 1 terabyte of capacity installed. Csaba Kiss, Deputy CEO, Chief Generation Officer and Chief Nuclear Officer of MVM Hungarian Electricity, pointed out that by 2050, the battery capacity needs to be 5 times higher than the current one.
The conference was organized under the honorary patronage of H.E. Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, who opened the event.