Emirates Islamic finances USD 500 mn power plant in Romania: Emirates Islamic — the Islamic banking arm of Emirates NBD — executed a USD 500 mn structured funding transaction for Jordan-based industrial and electrical energy conglomerate Mass Group Holding to construct a 1.7 GW natural gas-fired power plant in Romania, according to a press release.

The EUR 1.2 bn project is set to become Europe’s largest hydrogen-ready natural gas-fired plant and is scheduled to begin operations in 1Q 2026. It aims to use Romania’s interconnected power grid with Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Serbia to boost wider European energy supply.

Why this matters

Parent organization Emirates NBD is targeting USD 30 bn in mobilized sustainable financing by 2030, and the fact that this plant is hydrogen-ready makes it eligible as a sustainable finance transaction.

The Islamic financing aspect of this is also noteworthy — it’s rare that a European project of this size taps Islamic financiers, but the involvement of Mass Group and Emirates Islamic here is telling of a wider shift towards regional investors and companies for their strategic involvement in projects that might not seem appealing to Western investors. The plant had been insolvent for years before MGH bought it in 2022 and planned to turn it into a major gas-powered facility.

This comes as European banks tighten lending for gas-related “bridge fuels” due to ESG pressures, making room for regional lenders to offer viable alternatives like shariah-compliant financing for large-scale European energy projects.

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