ATOME, the AIM-listed low-carbon fertiliser developer, has assembled a consortium of equity partners to back its planned $630m fertiliser project in Paraguay, clearing a key hurdle as it moves towards a final investment decision early next year.

The proposed equity club, which will invest alongside ATOME in a special purpose vehicle for the Villeta project, has been constituted subject to final structuring and the execution of definitive documentation. Negotiations are said to be at an advanced stage, with the company now targeting a final investment decision by the end of January 2026.

Villeta, a 260,000-tonne-per-year plant located near Paraguay’s capital, is intended to produce low-carbon fertiliser at industrial scale. ATOME said the debt component of the project financing has already been finalised and that the overall funding package is now oversubscribed.

The equity consortium is led by Hy24, a specialist low-carbon hydrogen asset manager, and includes a group of international investors with experience in Latin America. ATOME will retain a meaningful equity stake in the project, reflecting a previously disclosed pre-FID valuation of $60m attributed to its interest in Villeta, and will manage the asset under a long-term services agreement.

The company said the formation of the equity club underlined investor confidence in its ability to deliver the project alongside established industrial partners, including fertiliser group Yara and engineering company Casale.

Work is continuing on finalising the project’s financial structure and contractual arrangements with equity and debt providers, the last steps required before FID. In parallel, detailed engineering is under way with Casale, while ATOME is expanding its internal engineering team in preparation for construction.

Chief executive Olivier Mussat said that the completion of the equity arrangements followed a series of milestones, including the signing of engineering and offtake agreements and the securing of debt financing led by multilateral lenders. He added that the company was now focused on concluding FID and commencing construction of what it describes as the world’s first dedicated industrial-scale low-carbon fertiliser plant.