During a recent appearance on The Watchlist, Atome PLC (LSE:ATOM) CEO Olivier Mussat discussed the company’s progress on its flagship Villeta low-carbon fertiliser project in Paraguay and the strategic importance of its offtake agreement with Yara International.

The definitive contract — already signed between the companies — gives Yara rights to purchase the entire output from Villeta for a minimum of ten years, for supply into a ready market for the plant’s production and reinforcing the project’s leading role in the emerging low-carbon fertilizer supply chain.

Key Points from the Interview

• Decarbonising fertilizers: Atome PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange, positions itself as the first pure-play producer of low-carbon fertilizer. Fertilizer manufacturing and use currently generates more greenhouse gases than shipping and aviation sectors combined, creating a major opportunity for disruption.
• Villeta’s strategic location: Paraguay’s plentiful, low-cost hydropower will feed a facility designed to produce about 260,000 tonnes of green ammonia-based fertilizer annually. Its location near Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay — a region consuming ~30M tonnes of nitrates per year — provides immediate demand for output.
• Yara agreement de-risks financing: Partnering with one of the world’s largest fertilizer companies validates Villeta’s commercial model, providing long-term revenues and supporting access to competitive project finance for the $465M build.
• Execution pathway: Land, permits, environmental licenses, power purchase agreements, and a fixed-price EPC contract with Casale are already in place. The focus now is closing debt and equity packages with development finance institutions such as IDB and FMO. A Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected later this year after which construction will begin.

Investment View

The Yara offtake gives Atome PLC a key foundation to advance the Villeta project and establishes the company as an leader in the wider green hydrogen and ammonia market.

With all major development risks addressed and project finance at an advanced stage, Atome PLC offers investors unique and increasingly de-risked exposure to the growing low-carbon agriculture market.

Upcoming catalysts include financial close, FID, and construction milestones leading to production within roughly 38 months of FID.

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