Prime Batteries Technology is accelerating its expansion plans and expects to reach a production capacity of 8.3 GWh by the end of 2027, one year earlier than initially planned, as the demand for batteries produced in Europe becomes increasingly significant in energy storage projects. At the workshop dedicated to the Romanian market organized by RPIA at Intersolar Europe 2026, Vicențiu Ciobanu, Executive Director at Prime Batteries Technology, explained that the decision to accelerate production capacity growth was partly driven by companies in Asia that need battery modules, cells, or other forms of European contribution to meet requirements. Prime Batteries is collaborating with South Korean partners to develop products for energy storage systems and is expanding faster than anticipated.
The company’s experience in energy storage began to build in Germany, where it was active in the residential market and delivered 27,000 systems between 2019 and 2022. This expertise has since been transferred to Romania, where Prime Batteries has moved to utility-scale applications, working on both standalone storage projects and hybrid systems connected to renewable assets.
From Ciobanu’s perspective, batteries have helped the Romanian energy market to integrate renewable capacities more quickly, in a context marked by volatile prices and aggressive market dynamics. Storage brings flexibility where the system needs it most, allowing for more efficient use of renewable energy and helping projects respond better to changing commercial and technical conditions. “We bring energy for EPCs. That’s what we do with batteries – we provide energy when it is needed,” said Vicențiu Ciobanu.
Modularity and adaptation
The advancement of storage is not just about adding more capacity. Ciobanu emphasized the need for modularity, augmentation capabilities, and customized products tailored to market demand, grid codes, and technical requirements that can change rapidly. As projects transition from two-hour systems to four-hour systems, and increasingly to longer durations, the technical choices made early in development become more important.
This is why Prime Batteries advocates for battery suppliers to be involved from the early stages of development and engineering, not just after the project setup has already been completed. Many storage projects were initially designed based on older assumptions, such as 2 MWh or 4 MWh containers. As technology has evolved and energy density has increased, those configurations often had to be redesigned.
Ciobanu cited an example of a project where the configuration was changed seven times. The changes were imposed not only by battery technology but also by new authorization rules for fire prevention, necessary distances between containers, and feedback from insurance companies. All these factors directly affect whether a storage project can be authorized, insured, constructed, and brought into commercial operation. “It is an advantage to be part of the design, not just in the project implementation,” he said, as the supplier can come up with a more mature technology and a solution aligned with authorization, safety, and grid requirements.
The company is also preparing for the next stage of the battery life cycle: recycling. As more batteries are used in electric vehicles and stationary storage systems, Europe will soon have a growing volume of batteries reaching the end of their life cycle. Ciobanu stated that significant quantities of materials could become available for recovery and reuse within the next five to seven years. This will create a new industrial opportunity. Recycled materials can reduce Europe’s dependence on resource-rich regions and support a more resilient battery supply chain.