Press Release: ATOME sign definitive Offtake Agreement with Yara to purchase entire production from the Villeta Project

• Completes final commercial step prior to finalising funding expected later this year
• Construction for US$630 million Villeta project targeted to commence in Q4 2025

ATOME (AIM: ATOM), the world-leading low-carbon fertiliser developer and the UK’s only dedicated international industrial scale low-carbon fertiliser company, announces the signing of the definitive minimum 10-year offtake agreement (“the Agreement”) with Yara International ASA (“Yara”) for the sale by ATOME and purchase by Yara of the entire 260,000 tonne-per-year low-carbon fertiliser production, based on 100% renewable power, at the Villeta Project in Paraguay (“Offtake”).

Highlights

• Definitive Offtake Agreement signed with Yara for the committed purchase of the entire 260,000 tonne-per-year low-carbon fertiliser production, based on 100% renewable baseload power, from the Villeta Project (“Villeta” or “Project”)
• Yara, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, is the world’s leading crop nutrition, production and distribution company of fertiliser and ammonia products and is at the forefront of decarbonisation in its industry
• The Agreement is for 10-years with an option to extend
• ATOME to benefit from Yara’s market-leading distribution network in South America
• The entry into the Definitive Offtake Agreement marks the completion of the last commercial milestone before declaring FID later in the year
• ATOME continues to advance progress on finalising the project finance for the US$630 million Villeta Project, with start of construction targeted to commence in Q4 2025 and further announcements expected in due course

The Agreement

The Agreement reflects the Heads of Terms entered into with Yara, as announced on 24 July 2024, to which investors are referred. The term of the Agreement is 10 years with an option to extend. The term as well as the committed purchase nature for all of ATOME’s production underpins the long-term success and profitability of the Project, aligning all parties, underscoring the bankability of the project for lenders and validating ATOME’s business model.

Yara and ATOME will work together to maximise market potential and the premium value proposition of ATOME’s low-carbon product, benefitting from Yara’s extensive sales, marketing and distribution network, combined with decades of experience in relevant markets.

Ready and willing market for low-carbon fertilisers

Villeta is expected to produce low-carbon Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (“CAN”) fertiliser, made from green ammonia produced from 100% renewable baseload hydropower, at industrial scale, without reliance on subsidies or grants, and close to major demand centres, providing global food producers with much needed cost-effective solutions to decarbonise their supply chains. Situated at the heart of Mercosur, the world’s largest fertiliser import market, with the Argentinian and Brazilian market on its doorstep, Villeta, as the first-of-its-kind project in the region, will disrupt the world’s largest net food-exporting region’s heavy reliance on imported, fossil-fuel-based fertilisers – much of it still coming from Russia and China – helping to advance both regional climate and food security goals.

Approximately one-third of human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are linked to food production according to United Nations’ data¹. Today, fertiliser use and production is the source of more emissions than the shipping and aviation industries combined. ATOME’s low-carbon Calcium Ammonium Nitrate product will contribute to decarbonising the food sector from the bottom up, getting to the root of the food value chain’s emissions. ATOME’s fertiliser is both clean and promotes high crop yields – unlike conventional nitrogen fertilisers, such as urea, which have a heavy carbon footprint.

As a first-mover in marketing low-carbon fertiliser alternatives, Yara sells low-carbon fertiliser directly into the agricultural supply chains of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. The offtake agreement will see ATOME benefit from Yara’s expanding commercialisation of low-carbon products.

Next step to Final Investment Decision (“FID”)

The achievement in signing of the Agreement represents the last commercial milestone in ATOME’s path to FID. This comes after the successful completion of a succession of other key commercial gating items, including the signing of the US$465 million fixed-price, lump-sum Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with Casale. Following the announcement of Hy24 as the anchor equity investor, we are now progressing the constitution of the equity club in parallel with the constitution of the senior lenders’ syndicate. FID and start of construction remains targeted for before the end of the year and it is anticipated that further announcements in this regard will be made in due course.

Terje Bakken, Director for Ammonia and Fertiliser Markets, commented:

“ATOME is pleased to sign this definitive and final offtake agreement with Yara, the global leader in crop nutrition. We know that making the switch to low-carbon fertiliser is one of the most effective ways to reduce food production emissions. The agreement with Yara is an important validation of our commercial model, underpinned by the market case for the world’s biggest food and beverage producers to urgently address agricultural emissions in their supply chains.

ATOME is pleased to have established a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with Yara. We look forward to fostering our partnership and remain grateful for the hard work and trust of the Yara team.”

Olivier Mussat, CEO, commented:

“Our partnership with Yara, now in final and definitive form, is a landmark milestone in the delivery of our Villeta Project in Paraguay. We are immensely proud to be a part of this first-of-its-kind agreement, the largest low-carbon fertiliser supply agreement globally, which clearly demonstrates the commercial demand for ATOME’s low-carbon fertiliser.

As we progress on our broader pipeline of projects alongside Villeta, ATOME continues to collaborate with world-leading project partners and offtakers to facilitate the distribution of our green molecules, disrupt traditional commodity markets and pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

Chrystel Monthean, EVP Americas at Yara, commented:

“Yara’s ambition is to contribute to ‘growing a nature-positive food future’, profitably. Yara has for many years been working on this challenge with farmers, cooperatives, and distributors in our South American markets. With this local supply of fertilisers based on renewable energy, we will strengthen our portfolio which, in combination with our agronomical knowledge, will allow us to respond competitively to market demand.

We are looking forward to continuing this strategic, long-term relationship with ATOME.”

¹ United Nations’ data: Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions | Nature Food