DLA Piper advises Baker Hughes on its investment in bio-methanation company Electrochaea

DLA Piper has advised US stock-listed energy technology company Baker Hughes on its investment in Electrochaea, a growth stage company developing novel proprietary bio-methanation technology. Baker Hughes as lead investor will help advance new project development and commercialization and also assume a seat on Electrochaea’s Board of Directors.

Through its investment, Baker Hughes will enhance its broader carbon capture and utilization portfolio and provide an integrated solution for customers across the carbon dioxide (CO2) value chain to enable the production of low carbon synthetic natural gas (SNG) from captured CO2 and green hydrogen, helping to meet demand for cleaner fuels to advance the energy transition.

The Electrochaea bio-methanation process is an accessible, highly-efficient, scalable and complementary technology to the Baker Hughes carbon capture and utilization portfolio. The two companies will join efforts to accelerate the scale up and industrialization of the technology, and develop the commercialization of an innovative integrated carbon capture and utilization solution.

The international DLA Piper team was jointly led by counsel Dr Isaschar Nicolaysen and partner Dr Benjamin Parameswaran and also included senior associate Katharina Minski (all Corporate/M&A, Hamburg). The wider team also comprised of partners Dr Burkhard Führmeyer (IPT, Frankfurt) and Dr Henriette Norda (Employment, Hamburg), counsel Annemarie Bloß (IPT, Hamburg), Dr Thilo Streit (Pubic Law, Cologne) and Sebastian Kost (Tax, Munich) as well as senior associate Friederike Rickers (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg).

DLA Piper’s office in Copenhagen also advised on the transaction, with a team led by partner Ulrik Bangsbo Hansen and lawyer Kristine Hansen (both Corporate/M&A). US-based of counsel Paul Mayers (Tax, Baltimore) also provided advice.