Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, Peter Szijjarto, has said that he expects the Franco-German consortium Framatome SAS – Siemens AG to provide equipment for the Paks II NPP project in accordance with agreements. Paks II, comprising two VVER-1200 reactors, is being built by Rosatom. "The control technology for the new nuclear power plant will be supplied by a German-French consortium, in which Germany's Siemens plays a leading role. It will supply the most important control equipment," Szijjártó told journalists.

The Minister stressed that cooperation between the two countries in the field of nuclear energy "will be of the greatest importance in the coming period for ensuring energy security" in Hungary. In this regard, Szijjarto noted the fact that the nuclear energy sector was not affected by the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia, and European companies will be able to continue participating in the Paks II project.

Currently, the Paks NPP, built according to the Soviet design, operates four power units with VVER-440 reactors. The Hungarian Parliament in 2009 approved construction of two new units. The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors (units 5&6) to be supplied by Rosatom. The contract was supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) issued the licence for the units in August.

In October 2021, Rusatom – Automated Control Systems JSC (a subsidiary of Rosatom) and the Franco-German consortium Framatome SAS – Siemens AG signed an agreement in Moscow on the manufacture and commissioning of automated process control systems for the new units . Earlier, within the framework of this project, a contract was signed for the manufacture of turbines by GE Hungary Kft., which is a Hungarian subsidiary of the American General Electric. With this in mind, the withdrawal of nuclear energy from the EU sanctions is of particular importance for the Paks II project.

Image: The Paks nuclear power plant development (courtesy of Paks II Ltd)