15. March 2023
sms.law advises Wien Energie on joint venture with OMV aimed at the development of deep geothermal energy in the Greater Vienna area
sms.law advises Wien Energie GmbH, Austria’s largest regional energy provider, on the establishment of a joint venture with OMV AG. The objective of the joint venture is the development and utilisation of hot water deposits from deep underground reservoirs (deep geothermal energy) in the eastern part of the Vienna Basin.
This pioneering renewable energy project will pool Wien Energie’s and OMV’s respective competencies and know-how: Wien Energie operates numerous heat generation plants and one of the largest district heating networks in Europe; OMV, as a globally active group, bringing decades of experience and expertise in the fields of geology and geophysics as well as drilling and production technology into the project.
The joint venture, which is still subject to the necessary official approvals, is to develop the geothermal potential in the Greater Vienna area, plan, construct and operate deep geothermal plants and thereby significantly contribute to a sustainable and climate-neutral heat supply for the region. By doing so, Wien Energie and OMV are intensifying a long-standing and prosperous cooperation in the exploration of the geothermal potential of the eastern Viennese basin, as for example in the context of the research project “GeoTief Wien”.
Our team at sms.law congratulates Wien Energie and OMV and would like to wish the partners success in this innovative and future-oriented project. “We are proud to be supporting the highly dedicated team of Wien Energie in their goal to decarbonise the district heating supply of the City of Vienna by 2040, ” says Christian Mayer, Team Lead and Managing Partner at sms.law. “Being involved in a green energy project of this magnitude is also something special for us.”
Wien Energie Legal Team: Valerie Franzin (Project Lead Legal), Bernhard Holl (Procurement), Wolfgang Uchatzy (Corporate/M&A), Markus Laurer (Head of Legal), Marlene Kern-Wedl (Team Lead Project Implementation, Procurement and Infrastructure), Patricia Kainz (Team Lead Energy, Sales, Competition), Rainer Schüch (Team Lead Corporate/M&A).
Advisors Wien Energie – sms.law: Christian Mayer (Team Lead; Competition and Antitrust, Corporate/M&A), Stephan Schmalzl (Corporate/M&A), Moritz Am Ende (Regulatory), Markus Dax (Real Estate), Lena Kersch (Competition and Antitrust; Corporate/M&A), Sarah Wolfgruber (Corporate/M&A), Matthias Gangl (Corporate/M&A).
Advisors OMV – Schönherr Rechtsanwälte: Alexander Popp (M&A, Team Lead), Alfred Amann (M&A), Julia Cuder (M&A), Franz Urlesberger (Antitrust), Anna Reumann (Antitrust), Bernd Rajal (Regulatory), Nina Zafoschnig (Regulatory), Teresa Waidmann (Employment), Johannes Stalzer (Procurement), Felix Schneider (Procurement), Marco Thorbauer (Tax), Tobias Hayden (Tax).
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