CO2 neutral certified German law firm Arqis Rechtsanwälte combines innovative legal advice with corporate, ecological and social responsibility. In 2021 the firm founded its public and regulatory practice which focuses on environmental law, and regularly handles advice on solar and wind projects, including for key clients such as Bürgersolarpark, a central player for solar energy in Germany.

The firm also advises clients in the burgeoning hydrogen sector. Friedrich Gebert and his team (Luise Schüling, Hannah Düwel and Bernhard Gröhe) are the go-to advisors for Sunfire, a company which researches and produces electrolysers for the generation of green hydrogen, in all matters pertaining to regulation and contract negotiations.

Another area where the firm counts with deep regulatory knowledge is e-mobility, including in connection with charging station infrastructure. Mirjam Boche and Gebert are assisting Ionity on all compliance and public law issues. The client is a joint venture of the car manufacturers BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen which aims to build and operate a network of high-performance fast-charging stations for electric vehicles along Europe’s main transport axes. Dortmunder Energie- und Wasserversorgung also benefit from the firm’s expertise in this space.

Internally, the firm has retroactively offset all its emissions since 2020, analysed its CO2 footprint together with carbon management company Planetly (now OneTrust), and formed the Arqis Green Team, comprised of employees across the firm, to map out its emissions reduction strategy.