ATOME PLC (AIM:ATOM) was a positive mover on Monday, with shares rising around 13%, after signing a definitive engineering, procurement and construction contract with Casale S.A. for its Villeta green fertiliser project in Paraguay.
It’s a fixed-price, lump-sum contract – at a cost of US$465 million – and it sets a timeline of 38 months from final investment decision to production start.
ATOME confirmed detailed engineering has already started and mobilisation is underway.
"ATOME is delighted to announce the signing of our EPC Contract with Casale, on time and on track to our project schedule,” chief executive Olivier Mussat said in a statement.
“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 H1 2025.”
Mussat also told investors that ATOME is addressing significant existing and projected demand for greener fertilizer, and, Villeta is intended to be a ‘pathfinder’ project, with the ATOME team set to develop a wider pipeline of projects.
Casale chief executive Federico Zardi, meanwhile, commented: "We at Casale are immensely proud to be an integral part of ATOME's world-first green fertiliser Villeta project in Paraguay.
“Through these technological advancements, we are delivering an extremely optimized design at Villeta, setting a precedent for sustainable fertiliser production at costs that are competitive with, or even lower than, conventional 'grey' fertilisers, paving the way to a sustainable agricultural future."
In London, Atome shares were up 3.7p or 13.2% changing hands at 31.6p.