Croatia’s national transmission system operator, HOPS, has approved a power supply blueprint for Pantheon Atlas’ planned 1GW hyperscale AI data centre in Topusko, Pantheon AI.
This development confirms the technical and regulatory feasibility of delivering electricity to the site at scale and marks a significant step toward starting construction, which is targeted for early 2027.
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The approval is set to open grid access to more than 5GW of new renewable energy capacity currently held up in the country.
The planned infrastructure will comprise over €500m ($569.8m) in investment, including 280km of new transmission lines, fibre-optic lines, a 400kV substation in Topusko, and associated roads.
Once built, ownership and operation of this infrastructure will be transferred to the Republic of Croatia, providing what Pantheon Atlas describes as a generational upgrade to the national grid and relieving existing constraints.
Pantheon AI project director Mario Gudelj said: “Croatia’s largest-ever private investment is moving forward as a direct result of momentum from the unique partnership driving this project: Croatian expertise, US capital, world-class partners in Končar and Greenvolt, and continued support from the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Croatia and HEP (state-owned utility company).”
The Pantheon AI data centre campus will span 310 acres and is designed to meet Nvidia GW-Scale AI Factory standards.
The company states that the HOPS decision addresses what has been a main obstacle in large-scale European data centre development: reliable grid access.
Key partners in the project include Končar Group for substation work, Dalekovod Projekt as transmission designer, Parsec Lab for data centre design and engineering.
Legal advisors for the project are Latham & Watkins and Hodgson Russ, and PwC and KPMG, alongside EU Energy Group are acting as financial advisors.
