Ashurst advises Commerz Real on agrivoltaic market entry

Ashurst advised Commerz Real AG on the acquisition of an agrivoltaics project on behalf of its Klimavest impact fund. The seller and cooperation partner is Elysium Solar.

Located near Berlin, the solar farm project development with agricultural co-use is to begin operations in 2025 and will have a nominal output of around 50 MWp. The forecast green electricity production will thus cover the average annual consumption of approx. 19,000 households. With the acquisition, Commerz Real assumes a pioneering role in Germany and brings a large-scale agrivoltaic project to the capital market for the first time. At least two further agrivoltaic farms with a capacity of up to 150 MWp are set to follow in a development cooperation with Elysium Solar, on which Ashurst advised as well. Agrivoltaics is the simultaneous use of areas of land for both solar photovoltaic power generation and agriculture.

Commerz Real is the asset manager for real asset investments of the Commerzbank Group. With Klimavest, in 2020 Commerz Real launched the first impact fund for private investors focusing on real assets. In the course of its term it is intended to develop a portfolio of plants for the generation of renewable energy, as well as sustainable infrastructure, mobility and forestry with a value of at least €25bn, with about €10bn thereof in the form of equity capital.

Elysium Solar with headquarters in Berlin is a joint venture between EIC Partners from Zurich and LBD-Beratungsgesellschaft from Berlin, two advisory firms which specialise in the energy market. The company develops and is involved in agrivoltaic projects together with partners in research and development. At present, 3 Elysium solar projects with a nominal output of approx. 200 MWp are being implemented and a further 12 projects with 1,000 MWp are planned.

The Ashurst team was led by partner Dr Maximilian Uibeleisen who has worked on the transaction together with partner Dr Benedikt von Schorlemer. They were supported by counsel Holger Mlynek, senior associates Dr Simon Groneberg and Jan Ischreyt as well as associate Friederike Preyer (all Energy & Infrastructure, Frankfurt).

Ashurst already advised Klimavest fund on entering into a strategic partnership with AMPYR Solar Europe on the development of a pipeline of large-scale solar PV projects in Germany.