LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Atome announced on Monday that it has signed a definitive $465m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Casale for its flagship green fertiliser facility in Villeta, Paraguay.
The AIM-traded firm said the fixed-price, lump-sum agreement marked a major milestone for the 260,000 tonnes per annum project, keeping it on track for a final investment decision (FID) and start of construction targeted for mid-2025.

It said the contract, structured under FIDIC's Silver Book terms, committed Casale to the turnkey delivery of the Villeta plant within 38 months from FID.

Detailed engineering work had already started in preparation for FID, reinforcing Atome's timeline for production and sales beginning in 2028.

The Villeta facility would be powered entirely by renewable baseload electricity, producing low-carbon fertiliser for the Mercosur region, one of the world's largest food-producing zones.

Atome said the project aimed to decarbonise a sector that currently emits 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually - more than global shipping and aviation combined.

The EPC contract was described as a key gating item for securing full project financing, and followed the recent signing of equity heads of terms with Hy24, which had committed up to $115m as anchor investor.

With Casale now formally engaged and engineering activity underway, Atome said it was progressing towards its estimated total project cost of $625m.

Atome said Casale would bring more than a century of expertise in fertiliser and ammonia technologies, having licensed and supported hundreds of facilities globally.

It previously completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the Villeta project, reinforcing its deep technical involvement from early stages.

Atome's strategic partners also included Yara, Aecom, Natixis, IDB Invest, and Paraguay's national utility ANDE.

"Atome is delighted to announce the signing of our EPC contract with Casale, on time and on track to our project schedule," said chief executive officer Olivier Mussat.

"This underscores our ability to deliver final agreements and marks another milestone achieved as we advance to reach FID for the Villeta Project towards the end of the first half of 2025.

"Casale is a world leader in ammonia and fertiliser engineering, and I have every confidence in the team as the right partners to deliver our flagship project in Paraguay, the first green fertiliser facility of its kind."

Mussat said Atome was addressing "significant" existing and projected demand for greener alternatives to fossil-fuel-produced fertiliser.

"Our Villeta project will be our pathfinder as we continue executing on our wider pipeline of projects to build the leading green fertiliser development platform."

At 1115 BST, shares in Atome were up 11.57% at 31.24p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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