Hungary - Smart CitiesHungary-SmartCities
Smart Cities
Overview
Hungary has been hosting a select number of Smart City initiatives and test projects over the past years, both on a municipal and national level. However, the country has yet to embark on a large scale and centralized smart cities undertaking as seen in many other Western European countries. Until now, many smart city initiatives were incentivized by collaborations of municipal and business players in this sector, often focusing on specific technical advancement. In order to enforce a more centralized management in this area, the government assigned the Lecher Center in 2015 to coordinate and support upcoming smart city initiatives and to link public and private players thus igniting a movement for more smart cities projects in Hungary.
There is no specific ministry assigned by the government to be responsible for smart city projects, but every government entity would have a role in it, although it is mostly covered by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Interior’s e-Government Secretariat. The concept of smart cities appears in several government programs including the Digital Welfare Program 2.0 - introduced in 2018 – and the Modern Cities Program that is a development project running until 2022 with a budget of $12 billion (HUF 3500 billion) available for 250 projects in 23 municipalities across Hungary.
Sub-Sector Best Prospects
Smart mobility - intelligent transport systems are being installed in several cities. The development of such solutions has become a priority for local municipalities and includes radar, cameras, automatic scales, and advanced electronics for road transport. Hungary’s Modern Cities Program includes $133 million for public transport and smart mobility development projects.
Smart living and healthy lifestyle – smart living is a dynamically expanding area with promising opportunities for U.S. firms. Around 90% of families are incorporating smart living technologies into housing designs and their lifestyles. For example, the wearables market in Hungary is anticipated to grow by 4.6% annually, resulting in a market volume of $10 million by 2023.
Smart buildings and construction – both the public and private sectors are converting current buildings into smart buildings including renewable energy sources, advanced access controls, and sophisticated security management among other innovations. Hungary’s Modern Cities Program for example, is managing funds worth $343 million for the development of energetic systems and public utilities in 8 cities.
Opportunities
Hungary is looking to be one of those countries to quickly launch an efficient 5G network, thereby acting as a European hub for 5G development. The construction of a 5G trial zone is in progress in Zalaegerszeg (western Hungary), aiming to embody autonomous operation, 5G development and all the other specific features of the smart city.
In July 2018, Magyar Telekom conducted a first 5G trial at the company’s headquarters in Budapest. Its first 5G standard station opened at Zalaegerszeg at the end January 2019.
This type of cutting-edge technology would advance Hungary’s Smart City programs and help Hungary set up a higher living standard. However, this type of change will need to stem from cities like Budapest first before making real change in surrounding smaller towns. 5G is one area that can offer a foundation for Budapest to introduce and test smart solutions in everything from sustainable mobility systems to CNG-fueled vehicles that when deemed successful can later make their way to other parts of the country.
Web Resources
https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/publications/5g-europe-time-change-gear-part-1
https://www.eib.org/en/publications/smart-cities-smart-investments-in-cesee
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/smart-cities-eastern-europe-cee-growing-potential-emma-lee
http://okosvaros.lechnerkozpont.hu/en
http://www.xpatloop.com/news/smart_solutions_for_our_cities_in_hungary
https://www.privatebank.citibank.com/home/fresh-insight/citi-gps-sustainable-cities.html
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.
Overview
Hungary has been hosting a select number of Smart City initiatives and test projects over the past years, both on a municipal and national level. However, the country has yet to embark on a large scale and centralized smart cities undertaking as seen in many other Western European countries. Until now, many smart city initiatives were incentivized by collaborations of municipal and business players in this sector, often focusing on specific technical advancement. In order to enforce a more centralized management in this area, the government assigned the Lecher Center in 2015 to coordinate and support upcoming smart city initiatives and to link public and private players thus igniting a movement for more smart cities projects in Hungary.
There is no specific ministry assigned by the government to be responsible for smart city projects, but every government entity would have a role in it, although it is mostly covered by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Interior’s e-Government Secretariat. The concept of smart cities appears in several government programs including the Digital Welfare Program 2.0 - introduced in 2018 – and the Modern Cities Program that is a development project running until 2022 with a budget of $12 billion (HUF 3500 billion) available for 250 projects in 23 municipalities across Hungary.
Sub-Sector Best Prospects
Smart mobility - intelligent transport systems are being installed in several cities. The development of such solutions has become a priority for local municipalities and includes radar, cameras, automatic scales, and advanced electronics for road transport. Hungary’s Modern Cities Program includes $133 million for public transport and smart mobility development projects.
Smart living and healthy lifestyle – smart living is a dynamically expanding area with promising opportunities for U.S. firms. Around 90% of families are incorporating smart living technologies into housing designs and their lifestyles. For example, the wearables market in Hungary is anticipated to grow by 4.6% annually, resulting in a market volume of $10 million by 2023.
Smart buildings and construction – both the public and private sectors are converting current buildings into smart buildings including renewable energy sources, advanced access controls, and sophisticated security management among other innovations. Hungary’s Modern Cities Program for example, is managing funds worth $343 million for the development of energetic systems and public utilities in 8 cities.
Opportunities
Hungary is looking to be one of those countries to quickly launch an efficient 5G network, thereby acting as a European hub for 5G development. The construction of a 5G trial zone is in progress in Zalaegerszeg (western Hungary), aiming to embody autonomous operation, 5G development and all the other specific features of the smart city.
In July 2018, Magyar Telekom conducted a first 5G trial at the company’s headquarters in Budapest. Its first 5G standard station opened at Zalaegerszeg at the end January 2019.
This type of cutting-edge technology would advance Hungary’s Smart City programs and help Hungary set up a higher living standard. However, this type of change will need to stem from cities like Budapest first before making real change in surrounding smaller towns. 5G is one area that can offer a foundation for Budapest to introduce and test smart solutions in everything from sustainable mobility systems to CNG-fueled vehicles that when deemed successful can later make their way to other parts of the country.
Web Resources
https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/publications/5g-europe-time-change-gear-part-1
https://www.eib.org/en/publications/smart-cities-smart-investments-in-cesee
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/smart-cities-eastern-europe-cee-growing-potential-emma-lee
http://okosvaros.lechnerkozpont.hu/en
http://www.xpatloop.com/news/smart_solutions_for_our_cities_in_hungary
https://www.privatebank.citibank.com/home/fresh-insight/citi-gps-sustainable-cities.html
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.