Moeve, Exolum reach financial close on strategic logistics, marine transport hub at Port of Huelva, Spain

Photo: Moeve

Moeve announced July 9 that it and Exolum, through their joint venture Terminal Puerto Tartessos, have secured financing from BBVA and Kutxabank to support the development of Muelle Sur, a strategic logistics and maritime transport hub located at the Port of Huelva, Spain.

The facility—already more than halfway through construction—will become one of the main gateways for feedstocks and products associated with Moeve’s new second-generation biofuels plant, which will form part of the largest second-gen biofuel complex in southern Europe.

The financing package totals 105-million euros (USD$119.8 million) and has been structured as a project-finance transaction.

The financing will optimize the project’s capital structure and support the long-term development of a strategic logistics asset within the Port of Huelva’s Outer Harbour industrial complex.

“Muelle Sur is a critical logistics asset for advancing the energy transition and strengthening Europe's autonomy,” said Carmen de Pablo, the chief financial officer at Moeve. “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.”

David Folgado, the chief financial officer at Exolum, 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.”

The Muelle Sur project includes the construction of a new 511-meter-long berth that will modernize the logistical capabilities of the La Rábida Energy Park and Exolum’ s facilities.

The new infrastructure will optimize vessel loading and unloading operations and enable a more efficient handling of sustainable feedstocks and the distribution of new renewable fuels.

It will also increase operational flexibility and reinforce the safety of the complex, contributing to enhanced European energy autonomy.