5 June 2024
THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE
COMPANY TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER
ARTICLE 7 OF THE EU REGULATION 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF THE UK
LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018
("MAR")
ATOME PLC
("ATOME",
"the Company", or "the Group")
Major milestone delivered at
Villeta Project
Completion of Front End
Engineering Design ("FEED") study
Final Investment Decision
("FID") and start of construction targeted by end
year
ATOME (AIM: ATOM), the leading
international developer of green fertiliser projects, is
pleased to announce the completion of the FEED study for its 145MW
green fertiliser facility at Villeta, Paraguay (the "Villeta
Project"). This is a major milestone, providing the foundational
engineering for the Villeta Project which keeps it on track to
commence construction by the end of 2024.
Highlights
· Successful completion of FEED study for the Villeta Project
representing the first known announced completion of FEED for a
large-scale green dedicated fertiliser project worldwide
· Marks a major
milestone in the delivery of the Villeta Project with offtake and
Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") negotiations now
at an advanced stage
· FID and start of
construction expected by end of year
Olivier Mussat, CEO, commented:
"ATOME
continues to follow its strategy and systematically deliver major
milestones on the road to starting construction at Villeta by the
end of this year.
"Completion of this complex and detailed FEED study, which we
believe is the first for an industrial scale, fully-green,
fertiliser facility, provides the necessary foundational
engineering not only for our first Villeta Project, but for ATOME
to apply elsewhere, consolidating our position as an international
leader in green fertiliser production. Our immediate attention now
turns to offtake and EPC, both of which will allow us to move
towards the delivery of FID this year.
"We would like to thank Casale and Urbas Energy, our FEED
contractors, as well as AECOM, our Owner's Engineer, for their
combined efforts over the past 18 months in bringing the FEED study
to completion as we now focus on the next key deliverables of
offtake and EPC in order to reach production start-up in
2027."
Jennifer Obertino, Global Energy Practice Lead, of AECOM,
commented: "We are pleased to confirm
the completion of the Front End Engineering Design study for the
145MW green fertiliser project at Villeta, Paraguay, having worked
alongside ATOME, Casale and Urbas Energy over the last 18
months.
"The Villeta Project has grown into one of the most advanced
of its kind in the world. We have worked with ATOME on its
unique journey in delivering zero-carbon fertiliser from 2027,
bringing in our expertise in accelerating the decarbonisation of
hard-to-abate sectors and partnering with clients to bring
innovative solutions to the market."
Next Steps
ATOME is now progressing EPC
contract discussions and anticipates that these discussions will
lead to the appointment of principal EPC contractors by the end of
June 2024 with the definitive contract expected to be signed at the
time of FID anticipated later this year.
ATOME is highly encouraged by the
status of discussions on offtake and hopes to be able to announce a
successful conclusion by the end of Q2 2024. Offtake is the last
significant milestone before proceeding to the final phases of the
ongoing project funding process.
Completion of FEED Study
ATOME announces the successful
completion of the FEED study for the 145MW Villeta Project. The
completion of FEED, which includes approximately 100,000 hours of
engineering and comprises some 619 individual documents and
reports, represents the first announced completion of FEED for any
large-scale green fertiliser facility worldwide.
The FEED study confirms the Villeta
Project's design, processes, timelines and production capacity of
264,000 tonnes per year of green Calcium Ammonium Nitrate ("CAN")
fertiliser which has the potential to displace up to an estimated
15 million tonnes/CO2e over the life of the
project.
The completion of FEED concludes the
foundational engineering for the Villeta Project ahead of EPC. The
study will now serve as a blueprint for ATOME's next projects as
the Company leverages on the significant expertise, learnings and
know-how accumulated from this process.
The FEED study was performed by
Spanish engineering firm, Urbas Energy, in cooperation with
world-renowned Casale, the Swiss-based OEM and licensor for ammonia
and fertiliser technologies. AECOM, the multinational Fortune-500
engineering consulting company, Owner's Engineer for ATOME, advised
and signed-off on the study together with the Company.
For
more information, please visit https://www.atomeplc.com
or
contact:
ATOME PLC Nikita Levine,
Investor Relations
|
+44 (0) 113 337 2210
info@atomeplc.com
|
Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser)
Roland Cornish, Michael Cornish
|
+44 (0) 20 7628 3396
|
SP
Angel (Joint Broker) Richard
Hail, Caroline Rowe
|
+44 (0) 20 3490 0470
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Broker)
Simon Hicks, George Dollemore
|
+44 (0) 20 7220 0500
|
Tavistock (Financial PR and IR)
Simon Hudson, Rebecca Hislaire,
Saskia Sizen
|
+44 (0) 20 7920 3150
atome@tavistock.co.uk
|
About ATOME
ATOME PLC is an AIM listed company targeting
green fertiliser production with 445-megawatt of projects in
Paraguay and a further pipeline of potential projects in Central
America.
Since its admission to AIM in December 2021
ATOME signed a 145MW power purchase agreement with ANDE, the state
energy company in Paraguay for acquired 30 hectares of land in
Villeta, Paraguay for that facility, mandated Natixis Corporate
& Investment Banking and the multilateral IDB Invest to lead
the project funding and with Front End Engineering and Design
studies currently underway with the international companies Urbas
and Casale. ANDE has also allocated a further 300MW for ATOME's
second project subject to studies.
In Costa Rica, The
National Ammonia Corporation S.A. was formed in 2022 with local
partner Cavendish S.A. based in Costa Rica to develop green
fertiliser projects for the region. As well as straddling the
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Costa Rica is a democratic Central
American country. In agriculture, Costa Rica is the second largest
supplier of pineapples in the world and is in the top ten banana
growers.
ATOME is in the process of operational
planning, sourcing and negotiations with green electricity
suppliers, equipment providers and offtake partners, including
signed memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements in
place with key parties, to produce green fertiliser at an
industrial scale using electricity generated from hydroelectric
power in Paraguay and Costa Rica. All chosen sites are located
close to the power and water sources and export facilities to serve
significant domestic and then international demand.
The Company has a green-focused Board which is
supported by major shareholders including Peter Levine, Schroders,
a leading fund manager, and since May 2023, Baker Hughes, a global
energy technology company operating in the energy and industry
sectors.
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