Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised a consortium of French banks – including Société Générale, Bpifrance, Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels and Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC – on the €70m financing granted to Elyse Energy to develop two strategic sustainable fuel projects.
The two projects, Elyse Energy’s most advanced, are:
- eM-Rhône on the Roches-Roussillon chemical platform in France’s Isère department and dedicated to producing e-methanol for the maritime sector; and
- BioTJet in the Lacq basin in France’s Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. Dedicated to producing sustainable aviation fuels, it is being in developed in partnership with Axens, IFP Energies Nouvelles and the Avril group.
The financing is supported by Bpifrance Assurance Export (a subsidiary of Bpifrance) acting in the name, on behalf of and under the control of the French State, with a Garantie des Projets Stratégiques (GPS).
Founded in 2020, Elyse Energy designs, develops, finances, builds and operates sustainable fuel production units from renewable and nuclear electricity and recycled carbon from industry or biomass.
The WFW Paris team that advised the lenders was led by Finance Partner Laurence Martinez-Bellet, supported by Senior Associate Julie Michelangeli and Associates Simon Allain and Olivier Charron. Due diligence and project advice was provided by Regulatory and Public Law Partner Laurent Battoue, assisted by Counsel Antoine Bois Minot and Associates Amandine Collard, Léo Van Den Bussche, Catherine Masquelet and Marie Jannet. Corporate expertise was provided by Partner Thomas Rabain and Associate Lucile Mazoué.
Laurence commented: “This financing marks a decisive step in the acceleration of Elyse Energy’s infrastructure development for the production and distribution of e-methanol and sustainable aviation fuels in Europe. These strategic projects are a perfect fit for WFW’s expertise in energy, infrastructure and transport and reinforce the firm’s role as a key partner in innovative projects and the construction of a competitive French industry”.
