Hungary Puts Central Europe's Largest Battery Storage Facility into Operation
According to the project developers, Hungary has commissioned Central Europe’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS). The facility marks another milestone in the rapid expansion of grid-connected energy storage and is intended to improve the integration of renewable energy into the power grid, reports the business portal VG.
The new facility in Buj, in northeastern Hungary, has an installed capacity of 99.8 MW and a storage capacity of 288.5 MWh. It consists of two identical battery systems, each with a capacity of 49.9 MW and 144.3 MWh.
The project developer is the Portuguese company Greenvolt Power, while the Hungarian engineering group Forest-Vill handled the construction. The company won the bid in December 2024 and completed construction in May 2026.
The Country’s Largest Battery Storage Facility
With the project in Buj, Hungary significantly surpasses its previously largest battery storage facility. That facility, located in Százhalombatta, has a capacity of 40 MW and a storage capacity of 80 MWh; it was connected to the grid in 2025 by the MET Group and was also built by Forest-Vill.
The facility uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology from the Chinese manufacturer BYD, which is continuously expanding its presence in the European energy storage market. BYD already operates an electric bus plant in Hungary and is currently building its first European passenger car plant in Szeged.
According to Forest-Vill, the two battery systems can supply enough electricity during a full discharge cycle to meet the needs of more than 40,000 households. The container-based, modular design allows for future capacity expansions. In addition, the facility features digital monitoring and predictive maintenance systems designed to enhance operational safety.
Funding of 28 million euros was provided for the project from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
Energy Storage Is Gaining Importance in Hungary
With the rapid expansion of solar energy, battery storage has become significantly more important in Hungary. The country is now among those in Central Europe with the highest share of solar power in electricity generation. At the same time, high feed-in during sunny weather and low demand makes grid stability more challenging. In addition, the partially outdated power grid has so far limited the integration of additional solar and wind capacity.
For several years now, Hungary has been installing more than 1 GW of new solar capacity annually. More than 300,000 households now have photovoltaic systems on their roofs. As part of its energy transition strategy, the country plans to expand its installed solar capacity from the current 8.3 GW to 12 GW by 2030.
Part of a European Energy Storage Initiative
The plant will go online shortly after Hungary joined a European initiative to accelerate the expansion of battery storage.
Minister of Economy and Energy István Kapitány announced in June that Hungary had joined a political agreement backed by 22 EU member states, the European Commission, financial institutions, and industry representatives. The initiative’s goal is to build 45 GW of additional storage capacity across Europe between 2026 and 2028.
Hungary had originally committed to expanding capacity by 700 MW but has since increased this target to 1,000 MW.
Greater Focus on Grid Stability
The expansion of battery storage is taking place against the backdrop of growing challenges for the Hungarian power grid. At the beginning of the summer, the Paks Nuclear Power Plant had to temporarily reduce its output after the water temperature of the Danube—which is used for cooling—exceeded permissible limits. The incident highlighted the need for more flexible storage and balancing capacities to ensure security of supply even under extreme weather conditions.