Linklaters advises on €97.5m financing of 170 MW / 340 MWh battery energy storage project in Belgium

Linklaters has advised the lenders on the €97.5m financing of Project Volt, a 170 MW / 340 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Garocentre, La Louvière, Belgium. The project, developed by Aukera Energy in joint venture with Weerts Group, reached financial close on 29 May 2026 and is expected to enter commercial operation in mid-2027.

Project Volt marks Aukera’s first battery energy storage project in Belgium and is among the largest BESS assets currently under construction in the country. The project secured a 15-year contract in Elia's Y-4 Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) auction in November 2025, a competitive process in which new battery storage capacity successfully displaced incumbent gas generation. Designed with an initial two-hour duration and provision for flexible augmentation, the BESS connects directly to Elia's high-voltage transmission network at the La Croyère substation.

The €97.5m financing brings together ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Triodos Bank as senior lenders, alongside a junior tranche provided entirely by Belgian institutional investors: I4B (Lead Junior Lender), Wallonie Entreprendre and SOCOFE. Linklaters acted as legal adviser to the lenders.

The Linklaters team was led by Laurens Cools (Partner), with Henri Boone (Managing Associate), Adeline Delguste and Antoine Degryse (Associates) on the finance side, Atdhe Krasniqi (Managing Associate) on the real estate side, and Melissa Verplancke (Managing Associate) and Laure Driessen (Associate) on the energy regulatory side.

Find out more about the transaction on Aukera's website.