Ashurst advised KfW IPEX-Bank (KfW) on the financing of an investment by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) in seven hydrogen trains to run a local public rail service in the Heidekrautbahn railway network.
The financing covers the procurement of a total of seven hydrogen trains of the Mireo Plus H type from Siemens Mobility under a leasing structure with DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing (DAL). The trains, which are equipped with a fuel cell drive and a lithium-ion battery, are to replace the diesel trains currently still in use from 2024 on, thus ensuring mobility that is completely free of CO2 emissions. The term of the financing is 25 years from delivery of the trains.
NEB is a long-established railway operator with sites in Berlin and Brandenburg and a history spanning more than 120 years. NEB operates local rail passenger transport on a total of 11 regional rail lines in the north and east of Brandenburg and in Berlin, including the historic route of the Heidekrautbahn.
The use of hydrogen vehicles on the Heidekrautbahn line is part of a scientifically supported joint pilot project funded by the German Federal Government and the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg to establish a regional, sustainable hydrogen infrastructure. The project aims to enable emission-free local transport on the basis of domestic renewable energies.
The Ashurst team was led by senior associate Alexandra Heitmann and partner Derk Opitz (both Project Finance). They were assisted by counsel Holger Mlynek (Transport), associates Patrick Rauch and Dr Galina Matjuschkin as well as senior transaction lawyer Ariana Fazlic (all Project Finance). Advice on public procurement law aspects was provided by Dr Michael Sitsen of Orth Kluth.
