Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Bucharest is emerging as a potential location for the next phase of European data centre development as artificial intelligence increases demand for computing capacity and electricity constraints make expansion increasingly difficult in some of the continent’s established hubs.
The Romanian capital ranks 21st in Savills’ Power and Place Index, which compares 54 global markets and identifies 30 locations considered well positioned for future data centre development. The assessment takes into account factors including electricity, water, climate, infrastructure and the practical conditions required to deliver new projects. The ranking is therefore better understood as an assessment of future development potential rather than a measure of existing data centre market size.
That distinction is important. Bucharest remains considerably smaller than Europe’s established data centre centres, but this could also provide an opportunity as developers search for alternatives to markets where grid capacity, land availability and lengthy development processes are making expansion increasingly difficult.
Savills’ analysis indicates that access to electricity is becoming one of the principal factors determining the geography of new data centre development. This is particularly relevant as AI workloads require increasingly powerful computing infrastructure, placing additional pressure on electricity networks and making the ability to secure substantial power connections critical to investment decisions.
Romania offers several advantages in this environment. Crosspoint Real Estate, Savills’ international associate in Romania, identifies the country’s fibre network, internet performance and competitive data-service costs as positive factors. At the same time, it acknowledges that electricity costs remain a potential disadvantage for an industry in which energy represents a substantial part of operating expenditure.
This creates a more complicated investment proposition than Bucharest’s ranking alone suggests. A data centre developer requires more than electricity theoretically available within the national energy system. Large amounts of power must be secured at a specific location, delivered within a predictable timeframe and provided at a cost that supports the long-term economics of the facility.
Romania’s energy infrastructure is developing, with additional generation expected from projects including Iernut and Mintia and further investment anticipated in electricity storage. These developments could improve the country’s longer-term position, although planned generation should not be treated as capacity already available to individual data centre projects.
“While traditional European hubs are facing increasing constraints related to energy access, land availability and development restrictions, Bucharest is emerging as a well-positioned market for the next wave of investments in digital infrastructure supporting AI development. For data center investors, access to power and connectivity is becoming just as important as location itself,” said Emilian Podaru, Head of Industrial & Logistics at Crosspoint Real Estate.
The first part of that argument is supported by the wider development of the European market. As established data centre locations encounter increasingly difficult infrastructure constraints, developers have greater incentive to consider cities where suitable land, electricity and connectivity can potentially be secured more easily.
However, this should not be interpreted as evidence that Bucharest is certain to attract a major wave of hyperscale investment. Romania is competing with numerous emerging European data centre locations seeking to benefit from the same constraints affecting traditional markets. The ability to provide secured electricity, predictable planning and suitable development sites will ultimately determine which markets capture that investment.
Bucharest’s digital connectivity provides an important foundation, but electricity could become the decisive factor. AI-oriented data centres can require substantially greater power densities than conventional facilities, increasing the importance of both grid capacity and resilient electricity supply.
The growth of data centres also has implications beyond specialist digital infrastructure. Savills estimates that expansion of Europe’s data centre ecosystem could generate approximately 790,000 sqm of additional logistics demand over the next three years. The requirement could include facilities supporting equipment storage, technical services, maintenance and other supply-chain activities associated with the operation and construction of data centres.
This creates a potentially important crossover with conventional commercial property. Large data centre clusters can generate surrounding demand for industrial and logistics facilities, while the infrastructure developed to support them can increase the attractiveness of locations to other technology-intensive businesses.
The trend could also change how industrial land is valued. Transport infrastructure, labour availability and land costs remain important, but electricity capacity and fibre connectivity are becoming additional considerations for developers targeting technology-intensive occupiers.
“For projects linked to the AI economy, investors simultaneously evaluate access to power, digital infrastructure, phased expansion potential and speed of implementation. Cities that can demonstrate these advantages will be better positioned to attract capital in the years ahead,” Podaru said.
For Bucharest, the Savills ranking therefore represents an indication of opportunity rather than confirmation of an established investment trend. The Romanian capital has connectivity advantages and could benefit from the search for additional European data centre locations, but the ability to convert those advantages into completed projects will depend heavily on energy infrastructure, development timelines and investor commitments.
The wider property implication extends beyond Romania. AI is increasing demand for digital infrastructure at precisely the moment when electricity networks and development constraints are limiting expansion in some established European markets. As a result, the geography of data centre investment has the potential to become considerably broader.
Bucharest now has an opportunity to participate in that redistribution of capital. Its success will ultimately depend less on its position in a global ranking and more on whether Romania can translate its digital strengths into secured power, suitable development sites and infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale investment.
