Dr. Nicolas Celis
Biography
Dr. Nicolas Celis is a counsel in the Energy & Infrastructure Practice Group in the Brussels office. He joined Baker McKenzie on 1 November 2025. Nicolas holds an LLM and a PhD in the field of climate change and international environmental law.
Practice Focus
Nicolas advises on EU and national energy regulation and supports the development and financing of energy projects worldwide. His regulatory work covers electricity and gas market design, renewable energy frameworks – including renewable fuels (such as biofuels and RFNBOs) – grid connection, capacity mechanisms, permits, decarbonization policies, carbon markets and climate transition plans. He regularly provides strategic guidance on compliance with EU ETS, CBAM and RED II/III (including their application to renewable fuels), as well as related contractual implementation and risk management.
On the transactional side, Nicolas is experienced in structuring and negotiating renewable energy contracts, including power purchase agreements (PPAs), grant agreements and interconnection agreements, as well as biofuels-related arrangements such as feedstock supply contracts. He also has a strong focus and proven track record in battery energy storage systems (BESS) and hybrid projects, advising on contracts related to supply, installation, long-term services, route-to-market strategies, and grid access. He coordinates multi-jurisdictional advice within Baker McKenzie’s Energy and Infrastructure practice and supports M&A and project finance transactions through due diligence, project structuring, and risk allocation.
Professional Honors
- Herman De Winter prize in Ridder René Victor moot court competition
Admissions
- Brussels~Belgium (2022)
Education
- University of Lincoln (PhD) (2023)
- University of Edinburgh (LLM) (2017)
- University of Antwerp (LLM) (2016)
- University of Antwerp (Bachelor’s degree) (2014)
Languages
- Dutch
- English
- French
- Spanish