White & Case advises Vulcan Energy on Phase One of Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (Vulcan), a leading developer of sustainable lithium and renewable energy projects in Europe, on the completion of a fully integrated project and capital solution for Phase One of the Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project in the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany, combining an approximately €800 million equity investment with a €1.4 billion multi-source project financing package.

"Delivering a multi‑source debt and equity financing for a first‑of‑its‑kind lithium project in Europe demanded creativity, persistence and excellence," said White & Case partner Rebecca Campbell, who led the Firm's deal team. "The White & Case team supported Vulcan on a solution that mobilises global capital at scale, integrates sustainability‑linked features and helps strengthen Europe's battery supply chain. It also builds on our experience advising on cutting-edge growth transactions across the lithium and broader battery materials sector globally."

The White & Case team advised on legal and commercial aspects necessary to deliver a single, cohesive solution for the project. This included the structuring and negotiation of the offtake agreements, major project documents (including construction and supply contracts), project finance documents, equity investment agreements and the intercreditor and security arrangements across multiple jurisdictions. The project also required coordinated advice on regulatory, grant funding and competition matters given the substantial involvement of the German government through federal and state grants to Vulcan and the participation of government-backed institutions such as KfW as an equity investor.

"This project reinforces White & Case's position as a leading adviser in delivering comprehensive project and capital solutions for the mining and metals sector and the European energy transition, bringing together debt, equity, government involvement and commercial contracting into single, robust frameworks for complex, strategic projects," said Campbell.

A defining feature of the transaction is the integration of multiple capital sources, including commercial bank debt, Export Credit Agency support, strategic and government-backed equity and public-sector grants, aligned with a bankable suite of project and offtake contracts. This multi-layered structure will support Vulcan's continued development of Phase One Lionheart which will be Europe's first integrated carbon neutral lithium and geothermal energy project, supplying battery-quality lithium and renewable power and heat from Germany's Upper Rhine Valley.

The strong institutional participation across the debt and equity structures demonstrates confidence in Vulcan's strategy and in the project's role within Europe's emerging critical minerals and energy transition landscape. It also highlights the increasing need for capital structures that combine private finance, public sector support, strategic equity partnerships and long term offtake to bring European mining and metals and energy transition assets to market.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led partners Rebecca Campbell (London), Hans-Georg Schulze (Berlin), Paddy Mohen (London) and Florian Degenhardt (Hamburg) and included partners Erasmus Hoffman, Norbert Wimmer (both Berlin), Thomas Burmeister, Thilo Wienke (both Düsseldorf) and Orion Berg (Paris), counsel Carsten Rodemann, Anna Burghardt-Kaufmann (both Berlin) and Christoph Arhold (Berlin & Brussels) and associates Xuefeng Wu, Kian Newlyn, Asad Khan, Max Gueli, Benjamin Rodin, Yoon So Lee (all London), Fabian Mayer, Su-Yeoun Park, Galina Wedel (all Berlin), Robert Bente, Martin Riederer (both Hamburg) and Selma Lyn Kalkutschke (Düsseldorf).

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