Tema Energy: Romania could at least triple its data center market in the next three years

Romania could triple or even increase its data center capacity by up to seven to eight times in the next three years after several investors announced new projects in the capital in recent months, said Mihai Manole, CEO of Tema Energy.

Last year, several major players announced their intentions and started projects to build large data centers. Bucharest was chosen mainly because of its easy access to communication lines, to the electricity network and to qualified staff.

In fact, eight of the ten most relevant data centers in Romania are located in Bucharest, according to data summarised by the DataCenter Forum organisers. This year’s DataCenter Forum – which will take place on May 9th – will host a debate on investment opportunities in Romania, with representatives from Portland Trust, DC Byte and ClusterPower.

“The Bucharest – Ilfov area has a real chance to become a regional hub for data centers, thanks to the conditions it offers to the international investors. The availability of high-speed communications, power supply capacity, the still low price of electricity and skilled human resources are just some of the advantages. In recent months, several major international investors have announced projects in and around Bucharest, totalling over 100 MW of power. If we take into account that the implementation of a large data centers takes on average about 2-3 years, in 2027 we could see an accelerated growth of three up to seven- eight times the current capacity”, says Mihai Manole, CEO of Tema Energy and organiser of DataCenter Forum, the only event dedicated to the data center industry in Romania.

Romania’s capital is ranked ninth in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) emerging markets, with data centers totalling 15 MW of power, according to a 2023 report released by the real estate consultancy Knight Frank. However, projects already in development could increase this capacity to 50-55 MW in the relatively short term.

A similar report published by Savills ranks Bucharest as the 30th most recommended European city to operate a data center.

The widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence and cognitive power processes is generating unprecedented demand for data center capacity. This phenomenon is happening in mature markets in the West as well as in secondary or emerging markets, including Romania.