Chinese industrial conglomerate Sany Group plans to invest more than €1bn in a large-scale hybrid energy and data centre project in western Romania, Profit reported on March 30. A Singapore-registered subsidiary of the group has signed a memorandum of understanding with a local partner for the development.

The project, named Sany Timiș, will be located in the village of Uivar and the city of Timișoara in Timiș County. It includes the construction of solar parks with a total capacity of 2.8 GWp, a battery energy storage system of 2.34 GWh, and a data centre with an IT load of 70 MW.

Investment in the two photovoltaic parks is estimated at around €320mn, while energy storage and the data centre are each expected to require about €350mn each. The solar installations will be built in Uivar, while the storage facility and data centre will be located in Timișoara, a city positioned along a major European data corridor linking to Frankfurt.

Sany will supply core equipment for the project, including solar panels manufactured at its facility in Hunan Province, and will finance the full investment. The factory is described as hosting China’s first fully robotic production line for photovoltaic panels.

Implementation will be handled by Romanian company Danube Solar Seven, owned by Mugurel Surupăceanu, a former member of parliament and prefect of Gorj County, which will oversee development until the project reaches commercial operation.

Sany Group is a privately owned Chinese conglomerate specialising in heavy industrial machinery and equipment, ranking among the world’s largest manufacturers. It also operates a photovoltaic module production division as part of its expanding energy business.