Clifford Chance’s US team advises clients across the world on their sustainable business transition and supports those at the forefront of ESG developments in the country. The firm’s Americas ESG practice closely collaborates with the global ESG team, providing clients with up-to-date guidance on rapidly changing cross-border requirements.

Washington DC-based co-head of the US energy and projects group, David Evans and his team advised the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office on a $504.4m loan for the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (“ACES”) Project, an innovative clean hydrogen production and storage facility capable of providing long-term seasonal energy storage. This will be the largest clean hydrogen storage facility in the world and will allow the Intermountain Power Agency to replace an existing coal-fired power plant with hybrid combined cycle gas turbines capable of operating on hydrogen fuel.

In New York, Michael Sabin leads the advice to OGCI Climate Investments on its inaugural $1.5bn Decarbonisation Fund targeting energy transition investments in North America. In another first, Hugo Triaca advised Itau BBA U.S. Securities and Scotia Capital (U.S.) as purchasers in connection with the $390m inaugural green bond issuance by the Chilean electricity transmission company Sociedad de Transmisión Austral (STA).

The firm’s commitment to ESG goes far beyond its client-facing work. As a signatory of the UN Global Compact, it has integrated sustainability into its Responsible Business Strategy and Code of Conduct. The Environmental Board has developed its Net Zero by 2030 strategy which includes working with third-party experts Carbon Intelligence and establishing science-based targets.

The firm’s Global ESG Board benefits from the expertise of Washington DC-based disputes lawyer Steve Nickelsburg, who among other things brings his ESG insights to the Board of Visitors of Duke University’s School of the Environment.