Aukera secures EUR 48.5m from IFC for phase two of Romania’s largest battery storage project
Aukera reached financial close on a EUR 48.5m IFC package for the second phase of the 250MW/500MWh Gura Ialomitei project, Romania’s largest battery storage.
Photo by Enric Cruz López on Pexels
Aukera has reached financial close on a EUR 48.5 million (USD 55.3 million) financing package from the International Finance Corporation for the second phase of its Gura Ialomitei project, set to become Romania’s largest operational battery storage facility. The agreement, reported by Energy-Storage.News on July 21, 2026, funds the remaining 100 MW / 200 MWh of a 250 MW / 500 MWh system. The IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, structured the package as a EUR 40 million capital-expenditure tranche plus a EUR 8.5 million value-added-tax facility, according to Aukera’s release carried by Energynomics.
Phase one of the project, a 150 MW / 300 MWh system, reached commercial operation in June 2026 with a EUR 60 million credit facility from Kommunalkredit Austria AG signed in November 2025. Phase two is expected to enter commercial operation by early 2027, completing a system that Aukera says will be among the largest in Central and Eastern Europe.
Romania battery storage: how the Gura Ialomitei project is built
The project is delivered in two stages that together reach 250 MW of power and 500 MWh of energy. The table below sets out the capacity and financing of each phase.
| Phase | Capacity | Financing | Commercial operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase one | 150 MW / 300 MWh | EUR 60 million, Kommunalkredit Austria AG | June 2026 |
| Phase two | 100 MW / 200 MWh | EUR 48.5 million, IFC | Expected early 2027 |
| Total | 250 MW / 500 MWh | Over EUR 100 million in loan financing | Phased to early 2027 |
Source: Aukera release via Energynomics and The Diplomat Bucharest, July 21, 2026, and Energy-Storage.News, July 21, 2026.
Aiden Yates, managing director and head of the structured finance division at Aukera, stated that “attracting a partner of IFC’s caliber is an important moment for the company.” Catalin Breaban, an Aukera co-founder, noted that the Gura Ialomitei site has “so far secured over 100 million euro in loan financing.” Marcelo Castellanos, World Bank Group country manager for Romania, stated that “battery energy storage opens a new chapter in Romania’s energy transition.”
A wider build-out of Romanian storage
The Aukera deal was reported alongside two other Romanian battery projects advancing the same week. ENEVO Group is EPC contractor for a 110 MW / 220 MWh system in Draganesti-Olt, Olt County, owned by Kraftfeld Energy, with construction due in the third quarter of 2026 and commercial operation expected in early 2027. PPC Renewables is adding a 40.08 MW / 80.16 MWh battery within the Corugea wind farm in the country’s south-east, financed through the Modernisation Fund. The chart below compares the three by energy capacity.
The cluster of projects points to storage taking a larger role in Romania’s grid, echoing the wider European shift toward flexible capacity seen in coverage of peer-to-peer energy trading in the EU and the pairing of generation with storage in projects such as China’s giant solar-hydrogen-storage plant. Longer-duration alternatives to lithium are covered in the report on iron-air batteries for long-duration storage.
About Aukera
Aukera is a pan-European battery storage and renewables platform that develops and operates projects as an independent power producer. Headquartered in Brussels and founded in 2021, the company is active in five European markets and is backed by investors including AtlasInvest, Reggeborgh, and SFPIM, Belgium’s sovereign wealth fund. According to The Diplomat Bucharest, Aukera has more than 810 MW of capacity under construction or in operation and a development pipeline exceeding 14 GW. The IFC financing for the second phase of Gura Ialomitei marks the company’s first partnership with the World Bank Group’s private-sector arm and completes the funding of what is set to be Romania’s largest operational battery storage system.
Sources: Energy-Storage.News; Energynomics; The Diplomat Bucharest
Featured image: photo by Enric Cruz López on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
