As Romania’s energy storage market rapidly moves from promise to large-scale implementation, providers capable of combining reliable technology with strong local responsiveness are gaining a clear competitive edge. In an interview with Energynomics, Marius Varga, Country Manager DUNEXT Romania & Moldova, explains how DUNEXT has quickly gained traction in the local market, what is driving demand across the commercial, industrial and utility-scale segments, and why intelligent energy management combined with strong local technical support is becoming a decisive differentiator. The discussion also explored the next phase of market development, as increasing regulatory support, accelerating renewable deployment and growing flexibility needs create new opportunities for large-scale energy storage implementation.
DUNEXT has achieved remarkable project momentum in Romania within a relatively short period of time. Could you introduce the company and explain what enabled such a rapid market entry?
Founded in 2023, DUNEXT is a specialized provider of integrated energy storage solutions for the commercial, industrial and utility-scale sectors.
From the very beginning, we viewed Romania as a strategic market for our European expansion, due to its strong growth potential and the accelerating pace of the energy transition.
At the same time, our core team brings together professionals with experience gained at companies such as Huawei, Sungrow and BYD, with an average of more than 10 years of industry expertise. This allowed us to enter the market not only with mature technology, but also with a deep understanding of the real operational challenges customers face.
DUNEXT’s growth in Romania is built around three strategic pillars.
1. Tailored solutions for every application
Whether we are discussing hotels, factories or agricultural operations, grid-connected systems or off-grid applications, each project requires a different approach.
Our portfolio includes both PowerHill air-cooled and liquid-cooled solutions, as well as containerized PowerMount systems, allowing us to configure the optimal solution based on each customer’s operational and financial objectives.
2. Intelligent energy management
The proprietary DuLink cloud platform uses cell-level monitoring and AI-driven algorithms to optimize charge-discharge cycles and provide predictive battery management.
As a result, the storage system becomes far more than a technical asset — it evolves into an intelligent energy platform capable of generating long-term value.
3. Strong local technical expertise
From the outset, we invested in a dedicated local team in Romania, capable of supporting the entire project lifecycle — from system design and grid compliance to commissioning and after-sales service.
In our view, customers are not only looking for high-performance equipment, but for trusted long-term partners capable of providing consistent support over time.
These three pillars have enabled us to deliver reference projects in Romania’s energy storage sector and rapidly build trust in the local market.
How do you assess Romania’s energy storage market today, and what role do public policies play in its future development?
Romania’s energy storage market is entering a phase of accelerated transformation, rapidly evolving from an emerging segment into a large-scale deployment market.
The fundamentals are already very strong: rapid renewable energy expansion and increasing electricity price volatility are creating clear economic drivers for storage investments.
What we are seeing today is the formation of a substantial project pipeline that will define the market’s next stage of maturity.
Public policies are clearly accelerating this transition. Recent improvements in the regulatory framework and the introduction of more effective support mechanisms have significantly increased the financial attractiveness of storage projects for investors.
Naturally, the pace of growth will also depend on how quickly challenges such as grid access and permitting procedures are addressed. From this perspective, recent developments are encouraging.
For companies like DUNEXT, the current environment creates a clear opportunity to deliver scalable and reliable solutions, supported by investment predictability, technical performance and strong local service capabilities, within a market entering a significant growth phase.
You mentioned that the PowerHill series has been very well received across Romania, from hotels and factories to farms. What are the key factors behind this market success?
We are very pleased to see PowerHill adopted across such a diverse range of applications.
There are three main factors behind this strong market response.
Flexibility and seamless integration
The PowerHill series is available in two main configurations: a 215 kWh air-cooled version and a 233 kWh liquid-cooled version.
This flexibility allows customers to select the most suitable solution according to their performance requirements and budget expectations.
In addition, the system is fully compatible with the most widely used inverter brands on the market, including Huawei. For many local projects, this translates into fast and seamless integration into existing PV installations, without requiring major retrofit investments.
Clear economic benefits
PowerHill supports multiple business models, including:
- peak-valley energy arbitrage,
- PV self-consumption optimization,
- participation in flexibility and grid balancing services.
In today’s volatile electricity market environment, many projects can achieve payback periods of just a few years, followed by substantial long-term financial returns.
An architecture designed for real operational needs
Whether supporting manufacturers seeking to reduce peak demand costs or agricultural businesses requiring reliable backup power, the system’s modular and scalable architecture allows customers to expand capacity progressively as their operations grow.
This “grow-as-you-need” approach aligns extremely well with how many Romanian businesses structure long-term investments.
The ability to provide local services is often decisive for customers investing in long-life assets such as energy storage systems. What differentiates DUNEXT’s local service model from other providers?
This is a critical aspect.
When customers invest in assets designed to operate for ten years or more, they are not simply purchasing hardware — they are investing in the security of a long-term partnership.
This is precisely why we built a three-level local service framework in Romania.
Level 1: Dedicated local field teams
DUNEXT maintains a permanent presence in Romania, including sales specialists, solution engineers and field service engineers.
Our team has deep expertise not only in our products, but also in local grid regulations, permitting procedures and applicable technical standards.
When issues arise, customers benefit from rapid local engineering response, without depending on overseas support teams.
Level 2: European logistics and spare parts infrastructure
We have established a European logistics network that includes warehouses in the Netherlands and Poland, as well as spare parts centers in the UK, Poland, Italy and Romania.
This infrastructure enables:
- fast deliveries, typically within 7–15 days;
- local spare parts availability;
- minimized system downtime.
Level 3: Full lifecycle project involvement
Our involvement begins during the pre-sales stage, with site evaluation and solution design.
It continues through commissioning to accelerate grid connection and rapid operational deployment, followed by 24/7 monitoring via the DuLink platform, periodic inspections and direct technical support.
An additional advantage is our team’s ability to communicate fluently in both Romanian and English — a seemingly small detail that makes a significant difference in day-to-day collaboration.
We strongly believe that in a market with Romania’s potential, trust is built through real local presence and the ability to provide consistent long-term support.
Looking ahead, what are Dunext’s plans and ambitions for the Romanian market?
We will continue strengthening DUNEXT’s presence in Romania across three key directions.
First, we will continue expanding our product portfolio to address a broader range of applications. Alongside the already well-established PowerHill series, we are now introducing containerized PowerMount solutions designed for large-scale industrial parks and renewable energy cluster applications.
Second, we aim to further strengthen the local ecosystem. We plan to deepen collaboration with distributors, EPC contractors and energy service providers in order to develop standardized solutions tailored to the Romanian market.
Third, we will continue expanding our service and technical support capabilities. Our local team will keep growing, including in consulting and project planning functions, enabling us to support projects from the earliest development stages.
Romania’s energy transition is clearly accelerating, and we are excited to be part of this evolution.
DUNEXT’s ambition is straightforward: to help local businesses reduce energy costs, improve operational resilience and build a truly sustainable energy future, through reliable technology and long-term partnerships.