European real asset investment platform MetaWealt has reached financial close on a EUR 19 million funding package for Dumbrava, a 50 MW / 100 MWh standalone battery energy storage (BESS) project in Neamț County. Dumbrava now becomes the first project to reach financial close under MetaWealth’s Romanian BESS program, which currently comprises approximately 850 MWh of identified projects and development pipeline and represents an estimated total investment requirement of approximately EUR 160 million.
The investment comes at a time when energy storage is becoming increasingly important for Romania’s electricity system. The country added approximately 2.2 GW of solar capacity in 2025 and exceeded 8.5 GW of installed solar capacity in August 2026, with solar energy now supplying between a quarter and, on some days, more than half of daytime electricity demand. Recent pressure on domestic generation, including the temporary shutdown of both Cernavodă reactors in August amid record-low Danube levels, has further highlighted the need for technologies that can store electricity and respond quickly when the system is under pressure.
The EUR 19 million financing package includes about EUR 10 million seven-year senior credit facility from CEC Bank and EUR 9 million in sponsor and investor capital. The Topolinski family is contributing EUR 5.5 million, while EUR 3.5 million is being provided by institutional and private investors through MetaWealth Luxembourg and its authorised distribution partners, including EUR 500,000 from BRD Asset Management (Société Générale).
MetaWealth originated and structured the transaction, raised the investor capital and secured the senior financing, bringing together sponsor funding, private and institutional investors and domestic bank financing within the same project.
“Dumbrava brings the MetaWealth development model together in one transaction: specialist origination and structuring, meaningful sponsor capital, participation from platform investors, domestic bank financing and experienced delivery partners,” said Michael Topolinski, Founder & CEO of MetaWealth. “With financial close achieved and construction underway, our focus is now on delivering the project towards its April 2027 commercial-operation target. Dumbrava is the first step in building a Romanian energy infrastructure program capable of mobilising sponsor, investor and bank capital at scale.”
The project is already under construction, with its grid connection approved and the main equipment packages ready for shipment. The connection does not require additional reinforcement of the electricity network and is located approximately 300 metres from the transmission substation. Parapet Group is the EPC contractor, and commercial operation is expected to start in April 2027.
Once operational, the two-hour battery system will be able to store electricity when prices are lower and release it back into the grid when demand and prices increase. It is also designed to support the electricity system by responding rapidly to imbalances and helping maintain grid stability, subject to the required prequalification.
The economic case for storage is also being reinforced by increasing volatility in electricity prices. According to DNV, an independent energy and technical advisory group, the difference between Romania’s highest and lowest hourly day-ahead electricity prices within a single day reached €168/MWh in 2025. While this does not represent a forecast of future returns, it illustrates the growing variation in electricity prices throughout the day, and the role storage can play in shifting energy between lower- and higher-demand periods.
Policy support is moving in the same direction. In March 2026, the European Commission approved a EUR 150 million Romanian scheme aimed at supporting at least 2,174 MWh of new standalone energy storage capacity. At European level, Commission-referenced studies point to more than 200 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030.
“Dumbrava was not structured around a single heatwave or exceptional price spike. We selected it for durable market fundamentals and a strong development profile, including secured grid rights and a short connection route that requires no network reinforcement,” said Richard McLaughlin-Duane, Managing Director, Origination & Structuring at MetaWealth.
Dumbrava is part of a broader MetaWealth pipeline that also includes a 48 MW / 100 MWh project at Sânpaul in Mureș County and approximately 650 MWh of additional capacity currently in development.