Atome Energy hails progress in Paraguay fertiliser factory project

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Green fertiliser company Atome Energy says progress is being made on its planned production facility in Paraguay.

The Leeds-based firm’s Villeta Project aims to bring a 145MW green ammonia production facility to 30 hectares of land near the Paraguayan city. Atome told shareholders on the London Stock Exchange that it has been granted and Environmental Licence by the country’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and has nearly completed an initial engineering study with negotiations under way with contractors.

The firm also said it is poised to receive tax free status for the project which it says will bring financial benefits to funders. It is hopeful that funding for the initial phase will come from development finance organisations and international banks, with interest said to have come from both.

Atome also talked up the results of an independent review of its green calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) which is said to have a significantly lower carbon footprint than current grey alternatives. Investors were told the product could potentially displace up to 550,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year compared with an imported and applied grey CAN fertiliser in the Paraguay market.

In addition to Villeta, Atome is looking to build another facility about twice its size. It said following discussions with state energy provider ANDE it was looking for a suitable location.

Olivier Mussat, CEO, said: “One by one, milestones continue to be achieved by Atome as our flagship world-scale green fertiliser project at Villeta, Paraguay proceeds. The critical environmental licence has been obtained, a mandatory step in the project development, opening the door to move to site clearance as the first step of operations, with the additional benefit of enabling the formal decree for tax-free zone status to be granted in the near future.

“The level and nature of the significant interest in the debt component of the Villeta project finance is very encouraging, demonstrating international as well as local financing interest in our project which has both strong economic viability as well as clear development impact thanks to its green credentials.

“It is an increasingly busy time for Atome and we will continue to keep shareholders appraised of our progress.”

Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber

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Atome Energy hails progress in Paraguay fertiliser factory project

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