Central Nuclear Financial Fund

Expansion and refurbishment of the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility (KKÁT) at Paks — a planned expansion from 24 to 33 vaults to accommodate spent fuel assemblies while the permanent deep repository is selected. This is operationally necessary: Paks NPP continues operating through the 2030s, generating spent fuel that must be safely stored. The World Nuclear Association confirms current capacity at 11,416 assemblies with expansion planned. The FSI keeps this line; deferring spent fuel storage creates unacceptable safety risk and legal non-compliance.

Operating costs for RHK Kft. (the radioactive waste management company) and the active storage facilities — staff, security, monitoring, maintenance, and safety systems. RHK Kft. was established in 1998 under the national nuclear authority as the statutory operator. The FSI keeps this line: safe operation of existing radioactive waste facilities is a non-negotiable public-safety obligation. The relevant efficiency question is whether RHK's operating cost per cubic metre of managed waste is benchmarked against comparable facilities in Finland (Onkalo) and Sweden (SFR) — not whether the function should exist.

Investment in low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste storage at Bátaapáti — underground vaults at 200–250 metres depth that began accepting waste in December 2012. This is a constitutional and EU Euratom Directive 2011/70 obligation: the state as regulator and polluter-pays enforcer must ensure adequate waste containment. The FSI keeps this line. Private markets cannot price century-scale radioactive containment risk; the state as sovereign backstop is the appropriate vehicle. The facility is operational and regulated by the OAH (national nuclear authority).

Site selection work for Hungary's high-level radioactive waste repository — geological surveys, community engagement, and regulatory preparation for a decision expected around 2030. Euratom Directive 2011/70 Article 9 requires member states to ensure adequate financial resources for final disposal; this expenditure is the legal compliance mechanism. The FSI keeps this line. High-level waste disposal is the most technically demanding and long-horizon obligation in the nuclear sector; under-investing in site selection and design now creates much larger future costs.

Support for local municipal associations near nuclear facilities for monitoring and public-information purposes — mandated by Hungary's 1996 Atomic Energy Act §10/A. These are community oversight bodies that verify facility safety reporting and provide a public-interest accountability layer on RHK's operations. The FSI keeps this line: independent local monitoring of nuclear facilities is a transparency and governance good, not a subsidy. At 1,499 mFt this is proportionate to the oversight function; the amount is set by the Atomic Energy Act, not by ministerial discretion.

Decommissioning preparation for Paks NPP — planning, engineering, and regulatory groundwork for the final shutdown expected in 2037 for Unit 4. Early decommissioning preparation reduces total lifecycle cost: the engineering literature consistently finds that late-stage decommissioning planning is more expensive than early planning by a factor of 2–4 times. The FSI keeps this line. Polluter-pays principle requires the operator to fund decommissioning through the Fund; this expenditure is the preparation work that makes orderly decommissioning achievable.

Fund management operational costs — the administrative overhead for running the Central Nuclear Financial Fund. At 84 mFt against a fund with an accumulated reserve of 693 billion Ft (per RHK disclosure), the management cost ratio is approximately 0.012% — low by any fund-administration benchmark. The FSI keeps this line. The Fund's purpose is specific, its governance is defined by the Atomic Energy Act, and its administrative overhead is proportionate. No reform case; periodic audit is the appropriate instrument.