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Budapest Times
07-05-2025
- Science
- Budapest Times
President Sulyok: Hungarian science has a glorious future
The president helped welcome MTA's 200th anniversary of its foundation. President Tamás Sulyok said there is every reason to believe that Hungarian science has a glorious future. The MTA is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its foundation, and in his speech in the renovated Ceremonial Hall of the Academy's headquarters, President Sulyok said that the founder of the MTA, István Széchenyi, had embraced the cause of the entire nation. Many in the 18th century embraced the idea of establishing a learned society and elevating the Hungarian language in the Carpathian Basin, he added. In the past two centuries, 'great Hungarian inventions and creations that amaze the world' emerged one after another, he said, referring to innovations from the invention of the match to the latest attosecond device in laser physics. The president also mentioned the numerous top prizes that Hungarian scientists have been awarded around the world. Balázs Hankó, the culture and innovation minister, said that the Hungarian scientific community had come about 200 years ago thanks to the responsible leadership's 'commitment to the Hungarian nation's desire for freedom'. He said there was not a single field of science that Hungarian scientists and innovators had not raised to a higher level. 'The Hungarian Academy of Sciences has played a decisive role over the past 200 years … and it will continue to do so,' he said. The minister added that the primary task of the MTA today was to 'strengthen our self-determination for the sake of our nation'.
Business Mayor
06-05-2025
- Science
- Business Mayor
Dust in the system — How Saharan storms threaten Europe's solar power future
As Europe increases its reliance on solar energy to meet climate and energy security targets, a growing atmospheric phenomenon is complicating the path forward: Saharan dust. New research presented at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU25) shows that mineral dust carried on the wind from North Africa is not only reducing photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation across Europe but also making it harder to predict. In their presentation at EGU25, The shadow of the wind: photovoltaic power generation under Europe's dusty skies, Dr. György Varga and collaborators from Hungarian and European institutions reveal how dust-laden skies disrupt PV performance and challenge existing forecasting models. Their work, grounded in field data from more than 46 Saharan dust events between 2019 and 2023, spans both Central Europe (Hungary) and Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece). The Sahara releases billions of tonnes of fine dust into the atmosphere every year, and tens of millions of tonnes reach European skies. These particles scatter and absorb sunlight, reduce irradiance at the surface, and can even promote cloud formation — all of which degrade PV output. The researchers found that conventional forecasting tools, which use static aerosol climatologies, frequently miss the mark during these events. Instead, the team recommends integrating near-real-time dust load data and aerosol-cloud coupling into forecasting models. This would allow for more reliable scheduling of solar energy and better preparedness for the variability introduced by atmospheric dust. 'There's a growing need for dynamic forecasting methods that account for both meteorological and mineralogical factors,' says Varga. 'Without them, the risk of underperformance and grid instability will only grow as solar becomes a larger part of our energy mix.' Beyond atmospheric effects, the team also points out to the long-term impacts of dust on the physical infrastructure of solar panels, including contamination and erosion — factors that can further reduce efficiency and increase maintenance costs. This research contributes to ongoing efforts in Hungary and the EU to improve climate resilience and renewable energy management. It is supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (FK138692), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the EU-funded National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change. READ SOURCE
