IJGlobal ESG Global Lender of the Year 2025 – CIBC

CIBC Capital Markets was praised by one judge who was strongly in favour of the Canadian bank winning the global lender award saying it is “a uniquely focused team, as evidenced by a number of notable financings in new technologies”.

Another of the judges said: “CIBC shows strong momentum in supporting emerging technologies like CCUS and biofuels, with notable roles in first-of-a-kind transactions such as the Northern Endurance Partnership.

“The creation of a dedicated Energy Transition team and its advisory capabilities are commendable.”

The judging period for the IJGlobal ESG Awards was a busy one for CIBC Capital Markets having been involved in Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and the associated NZT Power CCGT – 2 market defining transactions in the carbon capture storage and usage (CCUS) space.

On the broader market, CIBC also supported innovative financings in new technologies that include biofuels, biogas/ biomethane, battery energy storage. It has also built a broader pipeline of opportunities covering the evolving hydrogen, sustainable mobility and e-fuels, including as an adviser.

Over the course of the judging period, CIBC implemented a strategic focus on sustainability and energy transition by creating a dedicated Energy Transition team set up to deploy capital to new technology sectors as well as renewable energy.

On NEP – a JV between BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies – this was a marquee transaction for global project finance.

The first-of-a-kind project will develop common infrastructure to transport CO2 from carbon capture across the East Coast Cluster (ECC) in England.

This region currently represents around 50% of industrial emissions in the UK, allowing NEP to have a direct and significant impact on the UK’s emissions reduction.

It served as the first CCUS transaction to be financed with debt globally, with a total debt raise of around £4 billion. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) ius also the first carbon storage permit.

NEP will be critical in future proofing vital industry and directly supporting 2,000 jobs in the local area, transporting and storing up to 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year from 3 Teesside projects initially, rising to an average of up to 23 million tonnes by 2035.

Meanwhile, NZT Power will have the capacity to capture up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year while increasing the UK’s energy security and capabilities.

CIBC served as lender and hedge counterparty for both NEP and NZT.

The award winner also participated as a lender and hedge counterparty in the financing for Vertex Bioenergy (co-owned by DWS and Trilantic Europe), a market leading bioethanol producer in south west Europe with 4 operating assets in Spain and France.

Vertex raised €336 million in senior-secured, sustainability-linked financing with a 5-year tenor, comprised of term, capex and RCF facilities. It closed at the end of January (2025) and is to be used to support biofuels for road transport, growth into biomethane platform.

CIBC also supported Zenobē – the battery storage and fleet electrification specialist – to reach financial close on its latest battery storage system in Eccles, Scotland. This deal closed at the end of February.

Planned to go live in early 2027, the site provides the critical infrastructure the UK government needs to deliver on its Clean Power by 2030 ambition. CIBC acted as MLA and hedge counterparty.