From 1 July 2021 Mátrai Erőmű Zrt. (Mátra Power Plant Co.) continues to operate as MVM Mátra Energia Zrt. (MVM Mátra Energy Co.). With its more modern and dynamic name, the company intends to emphasize its belonging to the MVM Group as well as a complex transformation programme.

Having been in operation since 1969, Mátra Power Plant is the only significant electricity generating power plant based on domestic primary energy source (lignite) in Hungary. With its total installed capacity of 950 MW it is the second largest electricity producer in our country and plays an important role in some system regulating processes. In the year 2020 the power plant produced 4 116 GWh electricity, which provides approximately 15 % of the total national power generation. Fuel for the lignite-fired units of the power plant is delivered from its own open-pit mines from Visonta and Bükkábrány, where a total of 5.5 million m3 of lignite was excavated in 2020.

The power plant has been producing renewable energy since 2002, which proves its significant contribution to achieving the sustainability indicators undertaken within the European Union.  In order to reduce its CO2 – emission, the company also burns biomass mixed to the fuel in the proportion of 11-12 %.  By possessing the professional experience, the know-how as well as the special technology, its subsidiaries are important pillars of the company’s vision.  In addition to serving the power plant and the mines, these companies (Geosol Kft., MEKK Kft., MEBM Kft.) have marketable production and service capacities, which provide a solid basis for the implementation of the industrial development programme in the region.

With its 2,000 employees, MVM Mátra Energia Zrt. is one of the largest employers of the region. Together with its subsidiaries and partners of its industrial park, it supports the livelihood of about 3,000 families. That is why it is essential to maintain jobs during the transition to an environmentally friendly operation, and to make them sustainable in a longer term. Realising the green vision of the facility, phasing-out coal technology is also in line with the objectives of the EU Energy and Climate Policy, which provides opportunities for the company to apply for significant EU funding during the transition. Retaining employees longer in work remains a key priority even after the phase-out of coal-based power generation. The current mining activity will partly turn into recultivation following the year 2025, thus some of the miners can be employed further in the mining sites. In addition, workers of the Mátra will have an important role in the preparation tasks of the implementation of the planned state-of-the-art power plant units.

In 2007 an industrial park connected to Mátra Power Plant was established on a plot consisting of 259 ha core area and 23.4 ha development area, which administratively belongs partly to Visonta and partly to Halmajugra municipalities. It is bordered on the north-east by the reservoir of Markaz, on the east by agricultural area belonging to the municipality of  Markaz,  on the south by  landscaped mining area returned to agricultural cultivation,  and on the west by forest area  and vineyards planted on landscaped mine-dumps belonging to the municipality of Visonta.   

The firms and production companies settled right next to the power plant based their business intentions on the available commodity supplies, including cheap electricity and the existing infrastructure, utilizing by-products resulting from the operation of the power plant,  and biomass co-firing projects. In order to utilize by-products, companies producing plasterboard and alpha-semi-hydrate settled in the nearby area of the power plant, furthermore, a biodiesel- , bioethanol producing plant is also operating in the industrial park, which requires steam and power from the Mátra.