Noerr advises BEW on billion-euro financing for Berlin’s heating transition

A Noerr team led by Dorian Legel and Andreas Naujoks has advised BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH, Berlin’s state-owned district heating and energy company, on securing long-term billion-euro financing within the funding framework of KfW, Germany’s state-owned development bank. A consortium of nine banks is providing loans totalling one billion euros to finance key transformation projects.

The financing brings together KfW’s long-term subsidised financing terms and loans provided by a banking consortium. Its volume, structure and 20‑year terms set new benchmarks in the German lending market for energy infrastructure companies. This form of syndicated financing also breaks new ground for a district heating company in Germany. Led by IKB Deutsche Industriebank and KfW IPEX‑Bank, major national and international commercial banks as well as development, regional and cooperative banks are providing the loans.

The current financing round builds on BEW’s bridge financing, which it completed in 2025, and turns this into a stable long‑term structure. This became possible because KfW classified BEW’s transformation projects as especially eligible for funding. Depending on the KfW programme, the specified maximum limits could be exceeded several times over, allowing investments to be fully financed after deducting grants.

The financing ties directly into concrete investments: BEW is prioritising projects worth a total of around €1.6 billion and recording them within the KfW funding framework.

Advisors to BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH: Noerr

Lead: Dorian Legel (partner), Andreas Naujoks (partner, both Banking & Finance, Frankfurt)

Banking & Finance: Martina Buller (associated partner), Selena Nastvogel (senior associate) and Katharina Trompler (associate, all Frankfurt)

Tax: Andre Happel (partner), Benedikt Rippert (senior associate, both Frankfurt)