The Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom has started pouring concrete at Unit 5 (1.2 GW) at Paks II nuclear plant in Hungary, marking the start of reactor construction (Paks II press release, 05/02/2026). The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority issued all the necessary licences for the project to enter building phase at the end of 2025.
Paks has four VVER-440 units, commissioned in the 1980s, and two new VVER-1200 units are being built by Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of the Russian Rosatom. The already operational four VVER-440 reactors at Paks currently produces almost half of the electricity in Hungary, and the country plans to extend their lifetime until the 2050s. The two new units are planned for completion in 2032. In November 2025, the project was exempted from US sanctions targeting Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.