Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during a press conference in Budapest, Hungary October 17, 2025.
Szijjarto, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday, emphasized the need for additional nuclear fuel to ensure the safe operation of Hungary’s expanded nuclear capacity. He noted that Hungary will continue its existing fuel supply arrangement with Russia while exploring new options. “Alongside the existing Russian supplier relations we are starting consultations on buying nuclear fuel from the United States as well, in order to be able to serve our increased nuclear capacity safely,” Szijjarto told M1.
On Wednesday, Szijjarto was scheduled to meet with representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy and Westinghouse, a U.S. nuclear equipment supplier, to discuss potential cooperation. Details regarding the timeline for purchasing U.S. nuclear fuel or the proportion of Hungary’s needs it might cover were not disclosed.
Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, located in central Hungary, currently operates four Russian-built VVER 440 reactors with a combined capacity of approximately 2,000 megawatts. The plant relies on Russian-supplied nuclear fuel. To meet future energy demands, Hungary plans to extend the operational life of these reactors by 20 years. Additionally, the country is expanding the facility through the Paks II project, which involves the construction of two new VVER reactors, each with a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. Russia’s Rosatom is overseeing the expansion, which was contracted in 2014 and has faced significant delays.
In a related development, Hungary announced last year that it will also source nuclear fuel from France’s Framatome starting in 2027, further diversifying its supply chain. These efforts reflect Hungary’s strategy to secure a stable and varied supply of nuclear fuel to support its energy needs while maintaining operational safety.
