Atome Energy announces acquisition of 75 acre site for Villeta facility

Atome Energy release

ATOME Energy (AIM: ATOM), the only pure international green hydrogen and ammonia production company on the London Stock Exchange with current large scale industrial projects concentrating on energy and food security as well as hydrogen mobility projects, announces further operational progress with the acquisition of a 75 acre (30 hectare) site for its Villeta, Paraguay production facility.

Land acquisition in Villeta

Following the recently signed 60MW power purchase agreement and subsequent awarding of the FEED contract in relation to the Civil and Electromechanical works at the Villeta substation announced on 28 July 2022, ATOME is pleased to announce the securing of a 75 acre site adjacent to the Villeta substation for its Villeta production facility (the "Site"). ATOME through its Paraguayan subsidiary, ATOME Paraguay S.A., has entered into the freehold purchase contract to acquire the Site from an unrelated local landowner with completion scheduled in four months at a price of US$900,000, considered a market valuation, with the full 10% deposit already having been paid and balance due on completion. The purchase monies are able to be paid out of ATOME's existing resources.

The Villeta facility is the first phase of what is ultimately projected to be a total of some 400MW of capacity in Paraguay. The large 75 acre Site will provide room for expansion and facilitate the ability as may be required to store and act as a delivery point for ATOME's Paraguay production.

Not only is the Site adjacent to the Villeta substation of ANDE, the national power distribution company, thereby minimising the cost of transmission lines, it is conveniently situated near the major Villeta port facilities on the River Paraguay, itself only 35km from the capital Asuncion. The navigable Paraguay River merges further downstream with the Parana River and thence through the River Plate to the Atlantic Ocean. It is accordingly an important waterway linking inland cities in Paraguay such as Villeta to international export markets and provides ATOME with its route to export markets as it expands production.

The Site is close to major fertiliser distribution companies who currently import all ingredients for the products they sell from outside of Paraguay and transported up the river from countries such as China and Russia. The Site is also near barge building companies contributing to Paraguay's third largest barge fleet in the world.

Chair, Peter Levine, to speak at Invest in Paraguay on 8 September 2022

The Government of Paraguay in association with the multilateral institution, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is hosting an international "Invest in Paraguay" event on 8-9 September 2022 in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, at the headquarters of the South American Football Federation.

Peter Levine, Chair of ATOME, has been invited to speak at the event alongside, amongst others, the President of ANDE and the Paraguayan General Director of ITAIPU BINACIONAL, the second largest-hydroelectric dam in the world, a position that James Spalding, now President of ATOME Paraguay and main board director of ATOME, held for five years between 2013-2018.

Olivier Mussat, CEO of ATOME, commented:

"As we continue to make progress, the acquisition of the Villeta site is the next step on our critical path to achieve ATOME's business plan and vision to fast-track our projects by locating near the source of power. Accordingly, we were very pleased to come to an agreement to secure freehold land adjacent to ANDE's substation, near potential end customers and export facilities.

"The large 75 acre footprint not only enables ATOME to have room for future expansion and facilitation of storage but it also gives ATOME the scale to grow its business footprint and attract associated industries and provide new sustainable jobs. This is a great opportunity to bring in third party complementary businesses in the energy and fertiliser value chains, creating wealth for the country and value for our shareholders."