At the end of 2023, Hungarian energy company, MVM Group completed its strategy extending until 2035. Károly Mátrai, the CEO of the MVM Group shared the details of this ambitious plan that aims to make MVM the leading energy company in the region by 2035.
The first pillar of the strategy is green transformation, explained Károly Mátrai, who has led MVM as CEO since last January – in an interview with Index.hu. He pointed out that MVM plans to implement investments in the coming years that support Hungarian carbon neutrality and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the energy side.
“We are carrying out power plant and network development projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent over the strategy’s timeframe,” he emphasised.
The second pillar of the strategy is portfolio diversification, aiming to build a robust market product portfolio alongside regulated business segments, thereby transforming the company group’s activities. The MVM CEO added that this could lead to the outsourcing of certain business segments.
“However, for the companies we retain, we need to be a top 3 market player in the respective product category. In addition to diversification, we have also geographically committed ourselves: beyond Hungary, we aim to have a significant market presence in several other Central and Eastern European markets,” emphasised the group CEO in the interview.
The third pillar, organisational development, aims to make MVM a customer-oriented and adaptive company. The CEO pointed out that they continuously enhance their customer services, and despite the extensive infrastructure, they plan to digitise all their processes by 2035. The fourth pillar, focusing on financial excellence, includes preserving and enhancing their existing investment credit rating, among other objectives. “For us, financial excellence serves as a kind of imprint of our vision, which also encompasses ESG ratings, a criterion we aim to elevate to a higher standard. Today, this is a fundamental prerequisite for accessing capital markets,” underlined Mátrai.
“Our vision is for MVM Group to become the leading energy company in Central and Eastern Europe by 2035, serving as a flagship company for green transformation,” said the CEO. He noted that MVM plans to increase its market share in the Czech and Slovak markets alongside exploring business opportunities in Serbia, Romania, and the Balkans, in addition to considering the possibility of securing LNG capacity in Germany or Poland.
MVM is doing its best to ensure the resources for Hungary’s growing energy demand, underlined Mátrai pointing at the extended operation of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, the new gas power plants to be built in Tiszaújváros and a renewable portfolio of around 3000 megawatts (MW), that MVM plans to build partly in Hungary and partly abroad. This volume is substantial enough to have a meaningful impact on energy sovereignty according to the CEO.
Speaking about the impact of the energy crisis on the investment environment, the CEO of MVM expressed that the next 10-15 years will undoubtedly be marked by an “energy boom.” He mentioned a growing preference for renewable energy sources over fossil fuels in capital investment, with an increasing flow of funds into clean technologies. “The greening of the energy industry is essential for regaining our international competitiveness,” he underlined.
Regarding the growing importance of renewable energy production Mátrai noted in the interview that in 2023, MVM nearly doubled their renewable portfolio. By 2025, MVM aims to reach 800 MW and by 2035, 3000 MW through the construction of additional renewable capacities not only in Hungary but in the entire region.
Additionally, he revealed that alongside solar investments, MVM plans to have 300 MW from wind energy by 2035. Furthermore, by 2035, they aim to build a 100-megawatt geothermal power plant.