White & Case advises Deutsche Bank and Rabobank on €835 million Return BESS portfolio financing

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg and Rabobank as bookrunners, mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and lenders, as well as Deutsche Bank Luxembourg as facility agent and security agent, on an €835 million portfolio financing for Return, an independent energy storage provider, to support its expansion of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity in Germany.

"Battery storage is essential to support the further integration of growing renewable energy projects and investments in flexible energy capacity" said Florian Degenhardt, partner at White & Case. "This innovative portfolio financing combines multiple physical battery assets with a virtual flexibility model, providing Return with a scalable framework to fund its ambitious German BESS pipeline. We are pleased to have advised Deutsche Bank and Rabobank on this landmark transaction."

The financing supports Return's expansion of BESS capacity in Germany and combines financing for physical battery storage assets with Return's Virtual Flexibility Portfolio. The financing framework is designed to enable additional eligible projects to access funding as they progress towards financial close, without requiring a separate financing process for each project.

The financing initially covers three German battery storage projects with a combined capacity of 117 MW. Return aims to install at least 1 GW of battery storage capacity annually in Germany from 2027 onwards, subject to market conditions.

Return's Virtual Flexibility Portfolio aggregates capacity from multiple battery storage assets into a single virtual portfolio, enabling energy companies to access and scale flexible capacity through one interface. Return has entered into commercial arrangements including 400 MW of contracted battery flexibility with ENGIE in Germany and a separate 100 MW agreement with Centrica Energy.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partner Florian Degenhardt and local partner Matthias Grigoleit (both Hamburg) and included partner Anthony Colegrave (London), local partners Roland Arlt, Michael Volks (both Hamburg) and Petra Iffert (Frankfurt), counsel Beate Treibmann and associates Martin Riederer, Dana Masberg, Robert Bente, Sarah Bischoff (all Hamburg), Nicole Krellmann (Berlin), Karen Sievert (Düsseldorf) and Celine Ng (London).

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