ATOME PLC (AIM:ATOM), the London-listed developer of low-carbon fertiliser, has secured support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, for its flagship plant in Paraguay.
The IFC board has approved up to $100 million in financing for ATOME’s Villeta project, which aims to produce 260,000 tonnes of low-carbon fertiliser a year.
The funding, a mix of concessional debt and project-level equity, forms part of a $630 million package being assembled for the site.
The IFC, which invests in private-sector ventures in developing economies, has been increasing its climate-related funding.
Last year, it committed more than $9 billion to long-term climate projects and holds about $17 billion of investments across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Other lenders expected to take part in the Villeta project’s debt financing include the European Investment Bank, IDB Invest, the private-sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, FMO, the Dutch development bank, and the Green Climate Fund.
Olivier Mussat, ATOME’s chief executive, described the IFC’s approval as “another strong endorsement of the project’s maturity, bankability, and positive development impact”.
He added that the company was “focused on achieving final investment decision before the end of the year”.
The Villeta facility, once completed, is intended to be one of Latin America’s first industrial-scale producers of fertiliser made with low-carbon technology.