Norton Rose Fulbright advises lenders on €1.185 billion debt financing to Vulcan Energy

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a syndicate of 13 financial institutions on a €1.185 billion debt financing package for operating subsidiaries of Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (Vulcan Energy) to develop its Phase One Lionheart integrated lithium and renewable energy project.

The syndicate comprises the European Investment Bank, five Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) (Bpifrance AE, Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, Export Finance Australia, Export Development Canada and SACE), and seven major commercial banks (ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, ING, Kommunalkredit, Natixis CIB, OCBC and UniCredit).

The financing package, which has a 13-year tenor, will support the construction and development of Phase One of Vulcan Energy’s Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project in the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany.

The project with an overall investment volume of over €2 billion is intended to position Vulcan Energy as a key enabler of Europe’s battery and electric vehicle value chain and sustainable solutions, delivering low-cost lithium and renewable energy across Europe.

Norton Rose Fulbright partners Daniel Metcalfe (London) and Dirk Trautmann (Munich) co-led the firm’s team, supported by counsels Ann Vesley and Claus von Pegatzky, senior associates Claudia Dorbez, Sebastian Eisenhut and Matthias Zimmermann, and associates Georgia Foulkes Hartley, Sebastian Jeschke, Alex Noble and Benedict Schiller.

Norton Rose Fulbright Paris partners Alexandre Roth and Christophe Asselineau, Brussels partner Michael Jürgen Werner, Düsseldorf partners Valerian von Richthofen and Simon Weppner, Perth partner Nick Sinclair and Milan partner Arturro Sfuerruzza, and their respective teams, also advised in relation to this transaction.

Daniel Metcalfe commented:

“We are delighted to have advised on the complex financing of this landmark project in the critical minerals and energy transition sector. This year has been exceptionally busy for critical minerals, characterised by a surge in demand driven by the global clean energy transition, pressure to secure supply chains and new national strategies, and Vulcan’s Phase One Lionheart project epitomises this.”

Dirk Trautmann added:

“The combination of three different energy and minerals projects, a rapidly evolving technology and a diverse group of stakeholders made this a challenging exercise where we could draw upon our unique sector, practice and market experience from the Norton Rose Fulbright network with a truly integrated team.”

Norton Rose Fulbright’s projects practice is one of the largest in the world, with over 350 project and project finance lawyers. Over the past five years, the firm has closed 600 significant project finance transactions globally, totalling over US$286 billion. (IJGlobal Q1, 2025).