Monsson is currently designing and permitting a 50 MW data center project in Romania, which will serve as a pilot for a broader strategy that links renewable energy, batteries and AI infrastructure, said Sebastian Enache, Head of M&A at Monsson. The company expects that in the next five years more investors will not only use their own grid connection points for data centers, but also allow third parties to connect.
“Now we’re designing and permitting around 50 MW of data center. This would be the pilot project. In the next five years, we expect investors to tackle data centers at their connection points and also allow other investors to connect,” Enache said at the “International Approach London” conference, organized by Energynomics in London.
He believes Romania could increase investment in this area, especially since it is among the last countries in Europe to put in place digitalization and specific legislation for data centers. Monsson’s model combines renewable production, battery storage and data centers under the same grid connection. The company has a 1 GW battery portfolio in Europe and plans to add storage to all its Romanian projects. It is also preparing a major project with a 500 MW grid connection, including batteries and data centers, expected to start construction next year.
“Our vision is that each renewable energy asset should have at least one battery and one data center connected to the same grid connection,” Enache explained.
He argues that Romania needs a fast-track permitting process for data centers, similar to the one introduced for wind, solar and battery projects, which can now be approved in six to eight months. Enache also pointed out that the industry must take the lead in educating authorities, as happened in the renewable sector over the past decade. However, in AI the timeline is much shorter.
“For AI, five years is too long. We don’t have time to wait,” he said, adding that he has not yet seen a major data center investor ready to enter Romania.
Despite geopolitical challenges, Enache believes data centers will come to Romania, both for cloud and AI, but the key question is how many and how fast. Monsson says renewable energy is already able to provide stable power. At its site in Mireasa, Constanța, the company can supply 10 MW 24/7 and has developed large-scale battery systems with advanced cooling, extending lifespan and reaching efficiency levels of 92–93%. The company has deployed 300–400 MWh of battery storage and is building projects in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Croatia and Italy. It has also signed a framework agreement for another 1,000 MWh of batteries, mainly using European components.
The conference “International Approach London” was organized by Energynomics, with the support of the Embassy of Romania to the UK and the British Embassy in Romania, together with our partners: AJ BRAND, Electrica, Monsson, MyEnerji, Nofar Energy, Waldevar.