Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised BW ESS Holding GmbH (“BW ESS”) on the acquisition of one of Europe’s largest battery energy storage systems (“BESS”) projects to date from Zelos Energy Developments GmbH. BW ESS first invested in the project in 2024 and took full ownership earlier this year.
The BESS project, located in the Mansfeld-Südharz region of Saxony-Anhalt near the Klostermansfeld substation in Germany, has a planned capacity of 1,000 MW and storage capacity of up to 5,700 MWh. Upon completion, it is expected to be Germany’s largest battery storage facility and one of the largest in Europe, with a total capacity of 5.7 GWh. The project will be able to supply approximately three million German households with electricity for at least four hours.
BW ESS is a global energy storage owner-operator, moving with speed to develop, deliver and operate market-leading projects. It has more than 540MWh of operating BESS, with approximately 11 GWh under construction and a development pipeline of several gigawatts.
The WFW Germany Energy team that advised BW ESS was led by Hamburg Corporate Partner Christian R. Schindler, working with Senior Associate Marian Henkes, Associates Dr. Benedikt Kraft and Albert Merck, and Transaction Lawyer Stephanie Groß. Hamburg Partners Dr. F. Maximilian Boemke and Dr. Christine Bader, Düsseldorf Counsel Rebecca Trampe-Berger and Hamburg Associate Leonard Wolckenhaar advised on regulatory matters, whilst Frankfurt Counsel Manuel Rustler advised on tax matters.
Christian commented: “We are pleased to have advised BW ESS on this strategically significant transaction. With its scale and strategic importance, the project sets new benchmarks in the European energy storage market. It demonstrates strong investor interest in battery storage as a key technology for an increasingly renewable energy system, as well as the attractiveness of the German market for long-term infrastructure investment. Drawing on our extensive experience across the energy and infrastructure sectors, we regularly advise on investments and joint ventures for innovative energy transition projects”.
