Redelfi Forges Joint Venture to Develop Four Italian Data Centers
February 3, 2026
Italian battery energy storage system (BESS) company Redelfi S.p.A. has entered into a strategic joint venture with investment firm WRM Group to develop four new data centers across Italy. This move marks a significant expansion for the Milan-based energy specialist, representing its first direct foray into the digital infrastructure sector and highlighting the growing convergence between energy storage and data center operations. The agreement establishes a new dedicated company under Italian law to oversee the projects. Redelfi will hold a 51 percent controlling stake in this entity and will be responsible for managing the sites. The company stated that the partnership includes a compensation structure tied to the achievement of specific development milestones for each data center, with Redelfi participating both as a shareholder and as the development lead. This collaboration builds on an existing relationship between the two firms, having previously partnered in 2024 to form ‘Bright Storage,’ a venture focused on standalone BESS development. The core strategic rationale behind the deal is to advance Redelfi’s expertise in colocating large-scale BESS units with data center facilities. These systems, typically comprising arrays of lithium-ion batteries capable of storing hundreds of megawatts of power for multiple hours, offer data centers a critical tool for managing energy costs and enhancing grid stability. Colocation provides a dual benefit: it ensures an uninterrupted power supply before backup generators are needed during grid outages, and it creates a revenue-generating asset by allowing excess stored energy to be sold back to the grid during periods of low data center demand. Redelfi’s Chairman, Davide Sommariva, framed the venture as an “extension of our industrial model, based on the development of strategic and innovative infrastructures, from energy to digital.” The company has recently exited other renewable energy investments to focus entirely on the BESS market, which consultancy McKinsey estimates could grow into a $150 billion global industry by 2030. While still an emerging practice, the integration of BESS with data centers is seen as a key innovation for an industry under intense pressure to improve power resilience and operational efficiency. This entry of a dedicated energy storage player into data center development signals a potential shift in how future facilities are designed and financed, prioritizing integrated energy management from the ground up. The development will also contribute to the ongoing expansion of Italy’s data center landscape, catering to growing regional demand for compute and storage capacity.
Source: datacenterdynamics
