Aukera Energy has secured a €60m debt facility from Kommunalkredit Austria AG to finance its 250MW/500MWh battery storage project in Gura Ialomiței in Romania, according to the company.
Aukera said Phase 1 construction is underway and that the full project is expected to be operational by mid-2026.
The developer added that Kommunalkredit acted as sole mandated lead arranger.
Aiden Yates, Aukera’s managing director for project finance, said: “We are very pleased to partner with Kommunalkredit on this landmark transaction for Aukera and for the Romanian storage market.”
He said: “BESS projects are playing an increasingly vital role in providing the flexibility and reliability needed to balance supply and demand in a rapidly evolving generation mix, stabilizing grid frequency, and ensuring consistent power delivery.”
He added: “This first financing for Aukera in Romania brings together our market-leading local and international expertise across the platform to deliver the first project in our 2GW Romanian BESS pipeline.”
He said: “It demonstrates our ability to deliver large, complex projects across multiple markets, as we expand our European generation and storage platform.”
Arnaud de Laportaliere, senior transactor at Kommunalkredit, said: “This project marks a decisive step toward strengthening Romania’s energy resilience.”
He said: “By supporting Aukera’s first battery storage initiative, we are helping to substantially improve grid stability, in line with Kommunalkredit‘s vision to accelerate the energy transition across Europe.”
Bozkurt Aydinoglu, Aukera’s head of storage, said: “Our storage team has been at the forefront of the UK market since its earliest days – developing, designing, delivering, and operating projects that helped establish the standards now shaping Europe’s energy storage industry.”
He said: “Building on that experience, we’re bringing proven engineering, procurement, and operational excellence to Romania to deliver assets that address real, current system needs – improving grid stability and increasing the utilisation of renewable generation and the transmission network.”
He added: “By optimising how and when power is delivered, BESS also helps lower overall system costs, ultimately benefiting end consumers through more efficient and affordable electricity.”
Aukera said Akereos Capital acted as financial advisor, Clifford Chance Badea as borrower legal advisor, Dentons as lender legal advisor and Rina Consulting as lender technical advisor.