The largest data center in Romania and the sixth-largest in Europe to build near Craiova, Dolj County

By Andra Beltz
ClusterPower, a company founded and controlled by three Romanian entrepreneurs, will build near Craiova the largest data center in Romania and one of the largest in Europe.
ClusterPower will create a one-stop-shop Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, following an initial investment of RON 172 million (EUR 36 million), of which RON 82 million is provided by state aid granted last year by the Ministry of Finance. The difference is covered by the company’s funds and other sources of financing.
Heaving a performant compute infrastructure, the ClusterPower project will be the first hyper-scale data center in the region and will provide the context for stimulating the region’s economic growth, allowing hosting and development of state-of-the-art digital solutions with high added value.
“We aim to create an advanced interconnected platform to develop intelligent, modern digital solutions, supported by the high-power infrastructure we build. We consider that our vision and strategy are in line with those of the European Union and of Romania in terms of stimulating economic growth, creating long-term value, both for the company and society, as well as supporting innovation and performance,” says Cosmin Georgescu, founder, and CEO of ClusterPower.
The project will be built in stages in Mischii, Dolj County, 230 kilometers West of Bucharest, on a land of 25,427 square meters, owned by ClusterPower. The technology park will include advanced computing technologies and efficient and resilient energy infrastructure. With the completion of the investment, estimated in 2025, ClusterPower will be the largest provider of Cloud and Compute in South-eastern Europe and the sixth-largest in Europe and will have a global presence, secured by connecting to 750 data centers worldwide.
The construction of the first data center in the technology park begins in June. In total, the campus near Craiova will host five data centers and will be powered by electricity produced by a natural gas-fired power plant that ClusterPower will build on site. The power plant will have an installed capacity of up to 200 MW and will transform the data center into one of the most energy-efficient globally, thanks to the trigeneration system that involves the production of electricity, heating, and cooling.
ClusterPower will be one of the few data centers in the world with a direct connection to the highest level of electrical voltage (Transelectrica) as well as to the highest level of natural gas pressure (Transgaz), which will ensure its energy independence and allow low operating costs, high operational safety and flexibility in meeting future growth requirements. As a safety measure, the center will also be connected to the national electricity transmission network, as a guarantee of the project’s resilience to possible disasters.
”The design of the data center is following the Tier III resilience certification standard and will thus benefit from one of the most prestigious certifications in the field, that of Uptime Institute, on three dimensions – design, construction, and operation – level of certification which no other data center in Southeast Europe has. Our project is the first large data center in Romania and the first hyper-scale unit in South-eastern Europe, and through this we will increase Romania’s competitiveness in the global IT infrastructure, thus reinforcing the image established by top IT specialists. What we offer our customers, beyond a center of excellence for Artificial Intelligence, is trust, data security, and disaster resilience”, says Vladimir Ester, CTO ClusterPower.
ClusterPower was founded in 2019 by three Romanian entrepreneurs: Cosmin Georgescu, Vladimir Ester, and Carmen Ursa Georgescu. Cosmin Georgescu, CEO of ClusterPower, is an energy expert and has 15 years of experience in management and 20 years of experience in the field of energy infrastructure and complex technological projects. Vladimir Ester, CTO of Cluster Power, is an expert in IT infrastructure and services and has been working for 15 years in the field of technology and in the development of large-scale IT projects. Carmen Ursa Georgescu is an expert in international relations and has 12 years of experience in global projects spanning several continents. All are EMBA graduates from Asebuss and Kenesaw State University and have prestigious specializations corresponding to their expertise.