Norton Rose Fulbright Acted on TotalEnergies' Investment in Cross-Border Renewable Energy Project

Norton Rose Fulbright Acted on TotalEnergies' Investment in Cross-Border Renewable Energy Project

Norton Rose Fulbright, a prominent international law firm, provided legal counsel to TotalEnergies on its strategic minority investment in Xlinks First (Xlinks). This investment supports the development of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, a groundbreaking initiative involving long-distance renewable energy generation, battery storage, and cross-border energy transmission.

Xlinks aims to revolutionise energy transmission with the world's longest subsea cable, a 3,800km behemoth delivering 3.6GW of clean power from Morocco straight to the UK's Devon hub. This feat of engineering will be fuelled by an equally impressive 11.5GW solar and wind facility in Morocco's Guelmim Oued Noun region, bolstered by a robust battery storage system for even greater reliability.

This latest investment by TotalEnergies marks the successful conclusion of Xlinks' initial funding round, which also saw major commitments from Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) and Octopus Energy earlier this year.

A London-based team from Norton Rose Fulbright, spearheaded by partner Andrew Davies and assisted by senior associate Sam Morrey, associate Francesca Walker, and trainees Craig Langsdale and Hector Ribeiro, provided strategic legal guidance to TotalEnergies on their investment in Xlinks.

“The Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project will be a first-of-a-kind renewable energy generation and battery storage facility, and is indicative of the pioneering projects required to secure our long-term energy supply as part of the energy transition. It was a pleasure to support our long-standing client, TotalEnergies, in connection with this transaction, which builds on a number of other energy transition-related transactions we have advised them on recently,” Andrew Davies said.

“We have a strong track record in supporting clients with leading energy M&A, joint venture and equity investment transactions, and this transaction forms part of a trend of increased interest from major energy players in pursuing strategic minority investments,” Davies added.

The London team extended their support further, drawing on the specialised knowledge of Partner Stephen Rigby (Corporate), the Antitrust team led by Partner Ian Giles with Shaha El Sheemy and Maria Cristina Cancilleri, and tax specialists Partner Matt Hodkin and Will Scott. Partner Chris Down and Counsel Suncica Miletic provided crucial project insights, while Partner Mike Knapper and Maria Mercedes Stajszczyk ensured the intellectual property was covered.

For the Moroccan legal aspects, partners Alain Malek and Simon Cudennec, along with Counsel Anne-Laure Bernard-Bouissieres, Arnaud Sanz, Mathieu Dahan, and Associate Yasmine Najid, offered their invaluable expertise.