Norton Rose Fulbright advises TotalEnergies on EV charging joint venture with SSE

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised TotalEnergies on its newly created EV charging focused joint venture (JV) with SSE.

TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets energies. It has a history of over 100 years and employs more than 100,000 people worldwide.

The JV, which will operate under the brand ‘Source’, has been established to bolster EV charging infrastructure in the UK and Ireland. Through ‘Source’, the JV will build up to 3000 high power charge points (150 kW and above) in the UK and Ireland, providing fast and reliable charging for users of EV and fleet owners.

Over the course of the next five years, ‘Source’ will deploy its 3000 high power charge points across 300 ‘EV hubs’ located in urban areas and powered by renewable energy produced by SSE and TotalEnergies, targeting a 20% market share.

The project will contribute to the EV infrastructure needed to help decarbonise transport in the UK and, in Ireland, will support the government’s target to get almost 1 million EVs on roads by 2030.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team advised TotalEnergies on all corporate, tax, employment and energy related matters throughout the formation of the JV. The team was led by London-based corporate partner Andrew Davies, who was assisted by senior associate Edward Coleman and associate Charles Warren.

They were supported by a multi-disciplinary team from the firm’s London and Paris offices. This included London-based partners Ian Giles, Matthew Hodkin, Julia Lloyd, Charles Pinkerton and Catrina Smith; counsel Shaha El Sheemy and Ben Wright; senior associates Helen Finnis, Will Scott and Matej Ovecka; and associate Charles Winch. The Paris-based partners were Nadege Martin and Laure Joncour, with further support provided by counsel Marie-Therese Eugenio. Further transaction support was provided by London partners Stephen Rigby, Chris Grieves, Robert Marsh and Mike Knapper.

Andrew Davies commented:

“The creation of ‘Source’ will no doubt play a pivotal role in empowering the future of sustainable transportation. Together, TotalEnergies and SSE have committed to strengthening EV infrastructure across the UK and Ireland, enabling cleaner transport options in both countries.

“This transaction demonstrates the strength of our multidisciplinary, cross-border energy and infrastructure practice, and I am delighted that we have been able to support TotalEnergies on this important deal.”

This represents the second piece of work Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on and completed for TotalEnergies this year, having previously supported the energy company with its acquisition of West Burton Energy for an enterprise value of £450 million.

Norton Rose Fulbright has one of the largest and most prolific energy, infrastructure and natural resources teams of any law firm in the world, with a combined team of more than 1,300 lawyers across all practice areas. The firm’s lawyers have been at the heart of many of the world’s leading energy and infrastructure projects, including innovative and first-to-market transactions.