Norton Rose Fulbright’s global energy, infrastructure and resources practice recognized at IJGlobal Awards 2024

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on numerous winning deals at the IJGlobal Awards 2024.

The awards celebrate infrastructure and energy achievements across the globe. Entrants are judged by an independent panel of industry experts.

The ceremonies are held in London, Dubai, New York, and Singapore throughout March and April 2025. Norton Rose Fulbright was ranked as a top five global project finance advisor by volume for the full year 2024, with deals valued at more than US$50.4 billion in aggregate (IJGlobal, Q1 2025).

This year’s winning deals included:

Europe and Africa

IJGlobal Geothermal Deal of the Year: Eavor Erdwaerme Geretsried Geothermal Plant

Led by: Dirk Trautmann, including Klaus Bader and Valerian von Richthofen

A cross-border team advised a consortium of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), ING Bank N.V. (ING) and Mizuho Bank, Ltd (Mizuho) on the financing of the innovative geothermal power and heating project Eavor-Loop Geretsried. The first commercial-scale Eavor-LoopTM is being built with the additional support of a 91.6 million euros grant from the EU Innovation Fund. The EIB loan comes with a guarantee by the European InvestEU-programme. The project is co-financed by JBIC, ING Bank N.V. ING and Mizuho and is insured by Japan's Export Credit Agency, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). It qualifies as a green loan in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles.

In contrast to conventional geothermal power or heating projects, the Eavor-LoopTM technology does not capture heat from subsurface water or steam reservoirs. Instead, the company drills deeply into the earth and harvests the heat directly from underground rocks by creating a kind of underground radiator.

IJGlobal Energy Transition Deal of the Year: Northern Endurance Partnership

Led by: Alistair Black and Charez Golvala

Advised Equinor on its participation in the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) carbon transportation & storage joint venture with bp and TotalEnergies. NEP is expected to commence construction in mid-2025. The project consists of a CO2 gathering network and onshore compression facilities, as well as a 145km offshore pipeline. It also includes subsea injection and monitoring facilities for the Endurance saline liquefier, which is located 1000m below the seabed. It is expected that the project will transport and store up to 4 million tons of capture carbon emissions initially, each year, and this could rise to an average of up to 23 million tons by 2035, with further expansion of the East Coast Cluster.

IJGlobal Power Deal of the Year: Net Zero Teesside

Led by: Alistair Black and Charez Golvala

As part of Norton Rose Fulbright’s work with Equinor it also advised the international energy company on its joint venture with bp to build Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), the UK’s first gas-fired power plant with integrated carbon capture. NZT Power, located in Teesside and part of the East Coast Cluster, is a first-of-a-kind power plant with carbon capture which supports decarbonization ambitions across the UK, it will generate up to 725 MW of decarbonized power. The plant has the capacity to capture up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year.

Americas

IJGlobal Renewable Deal of the Year – BESS, North America: Green River Energy Center

Led by: Keith Martin and Christy Rivera

Represented renewable energy developer rPlus Energies, as borrower, in securing more than US$1 billion in construction debt financing for its solar-plus-storage project in Emery County, Utah.

The project, Green River Energy Center, is one of the largest solar-plus-storage facilities in the state. Once constructed, the project will consist of 400 MW in solar PV generation with a 400-MW/1,600-MWh battery energy storage system.

rPlus Energies is focused on developing, financing, constructing, owning and operating strategically-located, cost-competitive, large-scale renewable energy generation and storage projects. The company is based in Salt Lake City and helps industrial companies and utilities reach their renewable energy goals and also contributes to the modernization of the bulk electric system.

IJGlobal Bond of the Year – Transport, Latin America: Fourth Bridge Over the Panama Canal

Led by: Daniel Spencer, Patrick Dolan and Caspar Davey

Advised Consorcio Panamá Cuarto Puente, a consortium comprised of China Harbour Engineering Company and China Communications Construction Company, in the US$1.42 billion project financing for the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal.

The project includes a cable-stayed bridge over the Panama Canal and two road interchanges, one to the west connecting the Pan-American Highway to the city of Arraiján and one to the east connecting the North Corridor and Avenida Omar Torrijos in Panama City. The bridge will have a height of 75 meters over water level with 350-meter spacing between its supportive columns to allow for the passage of current and post-Panamax vessels. The total length of the main bridge is approximately 845 meters between expansion joints.

IJGlobal Export Finance Deal of the Year – Latin America: Metro Lima Line 2 Refinancing

Led by: Daniel Spencer, Arturo Sferruzza, Bart le Blanc

Represented Cassa Deposti e Prestiti, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Société Generale, Banco Santander and Instituto de Credito Oficial, as lenders,  in the amendment to an existing US$811 million credit facility that relates to the refinancing of the construction of Line 2 Lima metro.

Lima Metro Line 2 is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Latin America, building 35 kilometers of subway lines, that is being development by a PPP structure.

IJGlobal Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year – Latin America: Republic of El Salvador debt-for-nature conversion

Led by: Ken Hansen, Micaela Garcia-Ribeyro and Daniel Salomón Sotomayor

Represented the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) in the US$1 billion refinancing of US$1.031 billion of El Salvador’s outstanding bonds, with the savings dedicated to conservation, water security and ecosystem restoration efforts in the Lempa River watershed. This funding, which is the largest debt conversion transaction of its kind to date, will also stimulate economic development through regenerative agriculture.

The transaction was a joint effort from CAF, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Environmental Investment Fund of El Salvador (FIAES), ArtCap Strategies and the Government of El Salvador. CAF is providing a US$200 million in standby letters of credit, while DFC is providing US$1 billion in political risk insurance. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acted as sole arranger and lender for the loan and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as dealer manager in the tender offer for El Salvador’s bonds.

IJGlobal Bond of the Year – North America: Coastal GasLink

Led by: Rick Borden, Jennifer Kennedy, Pete Wiazowski and Noam Ayali

Advised the Agents and the Purchasers on the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Limited Partnership Senior Secured Notes Offering of US$7.15 billion, to refinance the original construction financing for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline in British Columbia. This represented the largest ever corporate bond issue in Canadian history.

Coastal GasLink connects Canada’s Dawson Creek area to the west coast of B.C. Construction was completed with the support of all 20 Indigenous groups across the entire 670-km project route-17 of which signed equity option agreements to become part owners.

Coastal GasLink will supply all of the natural gas feedstock for LNG Canada, a JV between Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS, that is developing Canada’s premier LNG export terminal facility. It will also supply the Cedar LNG project. Unlocking the first direct path for Canadian natural gas to reach global LNG markets, Coastal GasLink will move some of the most responsibly produced natural gas in the world to provide a lower-emitting energy option and offset coal-fired energy generation in global markets.

Asia Pacific

IJGlobal Digital Infrastructure Deal of the Year, APAC: Yondr Malaysia Data Center

Led by: Nick Merritt, including Aditya Rebbapragada and Su Xin Lim

Norton Rose Fulbright advised IFC on a US$150 million bridge loan to Yondr Group to finance its construction of a 98MW hyperscaler data centre in Malaysia which is the first phase of a 72.5-acre data center campus that is set to deliver 300MW of critical IT capacity for the growing data processing demand in the region.

IJGlobal Renewable Deal of the Year – Solar, APAC: Bukhara PPP solar and battery project 

Led by: Charles Whitney and Chris Down

Norton Rose Fulbright advised client Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) as the winning bidder, on the development, construction, operation and financing to fund a 250MW solar photovoltaic plant with a 63MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Uzbekistan.

The team advised Masdar throughout the financing agreement and project. The financing will support the construction and operation of the new plant, and the project aims to expand clean and reliable electricity access to approximately 75,000 households and is the first renewable energy initiative in Central Asia with an integrated BESS component.

IJGlobal Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year, APAC: New Melton Hospital PPP

Led by: Stephen Natoli

Norton Rose Fulbright advised Honeywell, which is the hard facilities management contractor within the Exemplar Health consortium, which also includes Capella Capital as the sponsor and investor, Lendlease Infrastructure Investments and Invesis as the investors, Lendlease as the builder and Compass Group Healthcare as the soft facilities management contractor in relation to the New Melton Hospital PPP project in Melbourne, Australia. Our team advised on all aspects of Honeywell’s bid, including reviewing, amending and negotiating all Hard Facilities Management documents required for bid submission; following selection of Exemplar Health as the preferred tenderer, the firm advised on finalisation of these documents.

Operated by Western Health, the new public hospital will be Victoria’s first fully electric hospital and comprise a 24-hour emergency department, at least 274 beds, an intensive care unit, maternity and neonatal services, mental health services, radiology services and ambulatory care. Once completed in 2029, it will have the capacity to treat 130,000 patients each year and see almost 60,000 patients in the emergency department.

IJGlobal Sustainability Linked Loan of the Year, APAC: Adani / Edgeconnex Data Centre Portfolio Project

The team included: Joris Ravelli

Norton Rose Fulbright advised the lenders on local Dutch law, in relation to an US$875m sustainability-linked project finance loan (“SLL”) for greenfield data centres raised by AdaniConneX, a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and US-based data centres developer EdgeConneX, backed by Swedish private equity manager EQT. Subject to the accordion being fully exercised, the SLL will represent one of the largest in India to date, as well as the first SLL for a data centre in the country.