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(Alliance News) - Atome Energy PLC on Wednesday said that its Paraguayan fertiliser facility had piqued investor interest, as planning and financing negotiations for the project near completion.
Atome is a Leeds, England-based company focused on the production of green hydrogen, ammonia and fertiliser through its operating subsidiaries in Paraguay and Iceland.
The company said that a front-end engineering design study and engineering, procurement and construction for its Villeta green fertiliser production project in Paraguay were "progressing well".
The Villeta hydrogen project is a 145 megawatt green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in southern Paraguay. In November, the project was granted free-trade zone status by presidential decree.
The FEED study will conclude within the quarter, while EPC contract discussions with specialist sub-contractors, led by the Texas-based infrastructure consulting firm Aecom, are expected to conclude "in the coming weeks".
The company also said that it had received several proposals from unnamed "leading international players" regarding the offtake of the full production of calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser from Villeta. The company believes there to be a "significant and growing market" for the product within South America, as well as the European and UK markets, in which there is an increasing emphasis on green fertiliser.
Atome is confident in being able to finalise Villeta, as interest in debt-financing for the project has been oversubscribed more than two-fold. The company believes it will be able to achieve the debt element of the financing on favourable terms, and expects to mandate the lead arrangers within the first quarter.
Villeta's "robust economic case and strategic importance" has also attracted interest in the project's equity component. As a "first of a kind" ammonia-fertiliser facility, Atome is in talks with a number of "international heavyweight investors" which are nearing completion.
Chief Executive Officer Olivier Mussat said: "The board is confident that 2024 will be a transformational year for Atome and we are grateful to the team and our strategic partners who have continued to work throughout the end of the year in order to make rapid progress on the engineering, financial and commercial fronts."
Shares in Atome were up 3.7% at 71.00 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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