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 the first-ever 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.
Bucharest - in the regional tops for data centers
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.
JLL: Emerging Europe area of which Romania is a part will grow by about 49%
Thus, secondary markets in Europe, including for example Spain, Poland and Romania, will grow by an average of around 49%, while the core FLAPD area (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) will not exceed 16%, according to the EMEA Data Centre 2024 report published by real estate consultancy JLL.
The report also highlights that investments in the data center industry in 2023 have doubled compared to the previous year, totalling €2.34 billion, Europe-wide.
Panel discussion at DataCenter Forum on investment opportunities in Romania
Most international analysts believe that the dramatic reduction in available data center space in the highly developed data center countries (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, etc.) will lead more and more investors to turn to secondary markets: Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
Thus, over the next two years, the main investments will be directed to places where the cost of land, energy and human resources is lower, but where there are also efficient communication nodes, sufficient and green electricity, and the technical capabilities to build and operate large data centers.
DataCenter Forum is the only event dedicated to the data centers and cloud market in Romania, bringing together the most important players in the industry, from investors and data center owners to specialists, designers, consultants. The event is organized by Tema Energy, leader of the Data Center market in Romania, with recognized expertise in turnkey engineering and execution of electrical, mechanical, security and software systems. Among the partners of the 2024 edition are companies such as Schneider Electric, Rittal, Eneria, Fujitsu, Panduit, nVent, R&M, AKSA, Vertiv, HiRef, Pyralis, Uniline and Cummins Power Generation.
