Moeve and Exolum have secured €105m ($120.1m) in project finance for a 511-metre berth at the Port of Huelva, according to Moeve. BBVA and Kutxabank are providing the financing through Terminal Puerto Tartessos, the joint venture developing the Muelle Sur project in the port’s Outer Harbour. Construction is more than 50% complete.
The berth will support vessel loading and unloading for Moeve’s La Rábida Energy Park and nearby Exolum facilities. It is intended to improve the handling of sustainable feedstocks and renewable fuels while increasing operational flexibility, efficiency and safety.
Muelle Sur will serve as a gateway for feedstocks and products associated with Moeve’s new second-generation biofuels plant. The facility will form part of what the company calls the largest 2G biofuel complex in southern Europe.
BBVA acted as sole bookrunner, sole underwriter, mandated lead arranger and hedge coordinator. Kutxabank acted as lead arranger. Garrigues advised Terminal Puerto Tartessos, while Gómez-Acebo & Pombo advised the financial institutions.
“Muelle Sur is a critical logistics asset for advancing the energy transition and strengthening Europe's autonomy. This financing agreement supports a project that will enable us to improve efficiency and secure the logistics capacity required at our Huelva facilities to advance our green molecule projects,” said Moeve chief financial officer and director of strategy, sustainability and M&A Carmen de Pablo.
Exolum chief financial officer David Folgado said: “Logistics is a fundamental enabler of the energy transition. Muelle Sur will provide us with a more modern and flexible infrastructure prepared to handle new energy vectors, enhancing operational efficiency and safety while contributing to the development of a more sustainable and competitive industrial base. This financing has also enabled the structuring of a transaction that demonstrates a strong appetite in the project finance market for supporting critical energy-transition infrastructure, creating value for the development of this type of asset.”
Moeve, S.A. is a Spanish energy and mobility company.
Exolum Corporation, S.A. is the parent company of a group operating logistics infrastructure for liquid products and gases.
Terminal Puerto Tartessos is the project company jointly owned by Moeve and Exolum.