A Memorandum of Intent was signed on Wednesday between the Romanian company Sinteza S.A. and the international giant Lockheed Martin, for the use of GridStar Flow technology in the production of negative electrolyte for long-term storage batteries.
Through this collaboration, Sinteza S.A. will build a factory worth 50 million euros in Oradea, which will produce 30,000 tons of negative electrolyte annually. The project supported by co-financing of 25 million euros from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) will position Romania among the European leaders in the field of storage batteries.
“I am excited about the prospects of this new partnership in Romania – our first project in the commercial sector and one that helps achieve the country’s ‘net zero’ emissions plans,” “GridStar Flow is a cutting-edge solution for energy security, a key element of any nation’s defense and security needs. Through this new initiative, Romania can become a regional leader in this important area of energy efficiency and security,” said Raymond Piselli, Vice President of International Affairs at Lockheed Martin.
Asked by Energynomics what other major investments the company has in Romania, Raymond Piselli said:
“We have expanded our partnership here. At Aerostar (Bacău) we work together on Himars systems and on Black Hawk (helicopters) and F16 (fighter jets) and C130, and the next evolution is, obviously, (maintenance for the) F35. So we have to work a lot here with the local industry to make the infrastructure support this, because it is a more advanced, 5th generation fighter jet, and infrastructure is very important,” said Raymond Piselli.
“You know, we are already training pilots for the entire region, here, for the F16, and again, the more we do here, it is not like we sell something and leave, but every time we do something, we create a new footprint, a greater economic value and more jobs,” he added. He also said that Lockheed wants to expand its local presence in research and development and that Romania’s engineering human resources are spectacular, and the costs are very low.
The new unit in Oradea will produce negative electrolyte from 2026.
Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Energy: “I am convinced that Romania will become a leader in Europe in battery production, already being one of the few producers in the world. Through this project, Romania is attracting a strategic American investor, with cutting-edge technology, which does not depend in any way on imports of raw materials from outside Western markets, in a field that is growing exponentially globally. Once this investment is completed, our country will have a strategic advantage in the European Union in the development of new renewable energy projects.”
