• Long-term financing for the largest district heating network in Western Europe
• Major contribution to decarbonising the heat supply in the German capital

KfW IPEX-Bank is participating in a leading role with EUR 200 million in a syndicated financing for BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH, under which a total of nine banks are providing the heating and energy utility with around EUR 1 billion.

The funds are intended, in particular, to facilitate the phase-out of hard coal by financing state-of-the-art generation assets, including combined heat and power plants and large-scale heat pumps, as well as the expansion and modernisation of the largest district heating network in Western Europe.

The financing thus supports BEW’s transformation plan, which aims to make the capital’s district heating supply climate-neutral from 2045 onwards.

The syndicated financing uses the low-interest funds of the promotional bank KfW from the KfW programmes “Investment Loans for Municipal and Social Enterprises” and “Climate action campaign for corporates” for refinancing.

“With this financing, we are making a significant contribution to transforming the heat supply in Berlin,” said Dr Velibor Marjanovic, Member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank. “BEW is a key player in driving the heat transition in the German capital. By supporting its investments in modern, future-proof generation assets and the expansion of the network, we are underlining our ambition to actively support the energy transition and sustainable infrastructure in Germany.”

“We would like to thank KfW IPEX-Bank and the participating banks for placing their trust in BEW’s transformation strategy,” said Axel Pinkert, Managing Director Finance at BEW. “This financing is a strong signal for the heat transition in Berlin. It creates an important basis for consistently advancing the transformation of our heat supply and implementing key projects under our decarbonisation roadmap.”

About BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme
BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH supplies more than one third of Berlin’s two million flats – some 700,000 homes – with district heating for space heating and hot water. In addition, BEW also supplies locally generated district cooling and offers bespoke decentralised energy solutions. Its goal is to make a significant contribution to achieving climate neutrality in Berlin. To this end, BEW will fully phase out the use of coal by 2030. By 2045, heat generation in Berlin is to be climate-neutral.