Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Energy Transition and Infrastructure Finance

Partner

Helen Beatty is a Partner in the Herbert Smith Freehills' Energy Transition and Infrastructure Finance team based in London. Helen offers extensive experience of energy transition projects across renewable energy, infrastructure, and the battery value chain.

Helen covers the spectrum of debt products and structures from the more traditional project finance and public private Partnership structures to multi-source platform financings, and acquisition and holdco financings, as well as streaming and royalties. Her broad and far-reaching client base includes developers, financial sponsors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), institutional investors including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and GP-managed funds, as well as traditional commercial banks.

Helen is heavily involved with the firm's energy transition and decarbonisation strategy and with a versatile sector practice and experience, is ideally placed to lead on new and hybrid structures and financing solutions in this area. She has been at the forefront of thought leadership in the sector in particular in relation to the battery value chain as they become an essential (but until recently underappreciated) part of delivering the energy transition. Helen has co-authored and published a number of articles over the past year including in relation to battery storage, critical minerals supply chain, the financing of gigafactories and recycling of critical minerals. Helen has also spoken on panels on battery storage and critical minerals, and delivered numerous presentations on these topics.

Helen joined the Partnership in 2020 and her accolades include being ranked in Chambers Projects - UK Wide as an Up and Coming Lawyer in 2025 and ranked in Legal 500 Projects, Energy & Natural Resources: Mining & Minerals and Infrastructure Project Finance and Development - UK Wide as a 'Next Generation Partner' in 2025