Romania will need ever more efficient storage units as the share of renewable energy in national consumption exceeds the 50-60% threshold, according to Mihaela Coroiu, Director Sustainable Energy Projects at Energobit. She warns that simply expanding renewable capacity is not enough without a coherent plan to integrate long-term storage into the energy system. “If the share of renewable energy from renewables in the national energy system is going to increase and grow beyond 40-50 to 60%, we will need storage that exceeds 10-12 hours. So we are already talking about another technology, technology that is more sustainable,” Coroiu said at the 11th Energy Strategy Summit, the flagship event of Energynomics.
She explained that in 2025 we can already see a “new trend of hybridization of projects”, which means diversification of sources, “for now we see a wind-solar hybridization”, but that it can also lead “towards thermal energy”.
Hybridization is not optional, but necessary, and storage will have to follow the same rules: two to four hours of capacity is no longer adequate. Longer-duration solutions are needed, and these are already starting to take shape, at ever-decreasing costs. “We don’t hear about them yet, because until two years ago they were five times more expensive than a lithium-ion battery.” Today, the initial investment cost is actually 1.2 -1.5 times that for a lithium-ion battery. Market demand has driven down prices and this effect will be felt in Romania over time.
Mihaela Coroiu also pointed out that for a project to be financially feasible today, it must truly integrate consumer demand, not just production. This end-consumer orientation is not just an ethical or sustainability imperative, but also a market requirement. Coroiu insisted that design must go as far as analyzing real demand, with sound financial simulations, so that investments are justified not only technically but also economically.
In addition, from the perspective of the developer and builder of integrated solutions, Coroiu emphasized the difficulty of covering a vast and increasingly sophisticated field: “There is such a vast range of knowledge that you need as a service provider for maintenance, for the execution of works in the transportation and distribution side, that it is very difficult to cover it all.” She also noted the transformations in her own production portfolio at Energobit: “We’re coming in and bringing in equipment that’s more environmentally friendly. For example we’re eliminating SF6, sulfur hexafloride. So we have in our portfolio primary or secondary distribution cells that incorporate this SF6-free solution.”
Finally, Coroiu drew attention to the risk of building large projects without a coherent and coordinated vision of the network and infrastructure. “Big projects can be realized, with sustained efforts, including in the transmission-distribution part.” She pointed to the need for “these solutions that increase your performance, digitalization”, insisting that the latter can solve the lack of coherent documentation in the existing energy system.
Romania, in his opinion, needs to take a realistic look at the need for deep grid modernization, smart integration of long-term storage and support the development of hybridized projects that respond to real demand. Only in this way can the current boom in renewable investment lead to a reliable and affordable energy system.
2025 Energy Strategy Summit was organised by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: AJ Brand, Elektra Renewable Support, ABB, Adrem Asset Management, Alive Capital, BCR, DEKRA, Distribuție Energie Electrică Romania, E-Infra, Eaton Electric, Electrica Furnizare, EnergoBit, Enery, Enevo Group, Enexus, European Investment Bank, Evryo, Exim Banca Romaneasca, Delgaz Grid, Genesis Biopartner, Huawei, ING Bank, Jantzen Renewables, Keno Energy, Leader Team, LONGi, Nano Energies, Prime Batteries Technology, Procesio, Procredit Bank, Relians, Renomia, Romgaz, Schneider Electric, script.ai, Sermatec, smartPulse, Solar Today, SolaX, Think Blu Solution, Voltika, Wiren, YEO, AIployees, Aqua Carpatica, Alexandrion, Carbon Tool, Imsol.