Herbert Smith Freehills advises DIF Capital Partners on investment in battery energy storage systems developer Field

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised DIF Capital Partners on a £200 million investment into Field, a London-headquartered dedicated developer and operator of battery energy storage systems.

DIF is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with approximately EUR 16 billion of assets under management (AUM). Headquartered in the Netherlands, it was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

The investment, via DIF's DIF Infrastructure VII fund, will allow Field to accelerate the development and buildout of its 4.5 GWh pipeline of grid-scale battery energy storage projects in the UK and Western Europe as it seeks to contribute to the renewable energy infrastructure needed to reach Net Zero.

Field’s battery energy storage systems allow energy generated during times of lower demand to be stored and released to the grid during times of higher demand.

Field is already operating its first site in the UK, a 20 MWh battery project in Oldham, Greater Manchester. It has another four sites totalling 210 MWh under or near construction in the UK: Newport in South Wales, Blackburn in Lancashire, Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire and Auchteraw in the Scottish Highlands.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by Corporate partners Sarah Pollock and Joseph Dennis, supported by Claudia McEwen, Sam Cundall, Mila Rubinfeld and Hannah Marsh.  

Sarah commented: "We are pleased to have assisted DIF Capital Partners in its second investment in the battery energy storage sector. This demonstrates our market leading energy transition team's deep knowledge of this important asset class. BESS is key to supporting delivery of the UK's transition to net zero."

Joseph said: "DIF's investment in Field is testament to our ability to support private capital investors in their deployment of capital into growth opportunities. This is a structure we are seeing being used increasingly in the energy and infrastructure sectors."