Hydrogen Open 2024 Conference in Budapest

The Hungarian Hydrogen Technology Association's two-day international conference 'Hydrogen Open 2024' focuses on green hydrogen at the Mol Campus building in Budapest.

In his opening speech, Gábriel Szabó, Group Downstream Managing Director at the oil and gas company Mol, said that Mol's priority goal is to accelerate the green energy transition in the Central and Eastern European region, and that hydrogen will play a key role in this. Green hydrogen can help reduce emissions from their refineries by up to a third, he added.

In his speech, Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said the cost of green hydrogen production and its storage possibilities were important issues. This area is in the research and development phase, but we need to prepare for the domestic application of new technologies, he pointed out.

He added that Hungary's first green hydrogen production plant was inaugurated in Kardoskút last year. Mol's green hydrogen plant in Százhalombatta will soon be in production, and together with the Bükkábrány plant there will be three green hydrogen production plants in the country.

If energy companies, automotive experts and decision-makers can work together effectively, hydrogen could play a significant role in the future of mobility, he said.

At the conference, the Hungarian Hydrogen Technology Association and the Ministry of Energy signed a cooperation agreement on professional support for Hungarian technological developments and the renewal of the industry's strategy.

After the signing ceremony, István Lepsényi, president of the association, said that the implementation of hydrogen technology is a major challenge, involving significant research and development tasks and investments. In order to enable Hungarian industry to participate in this, targeted state support is essential, and the association would like to contribute to this with proposals.