Claim independently assessed to be very substantial
LONDON, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ATOME, the leading low-carbon fertiliser developer and the UK's only dedicated international industrial scale low-carbon fertiliser company, provides an update further to previous announcements regarding the Power Purchase Agreement ("PPA") for the Villeta Project in Paraguay ("Villeta" or "Project").
ATOME remains in discussions relating to ATOME's shovel ready Villeta Project, the largest single foreign industrial investment in the history of Paraguay totaling US$665 million. Notwithstanding this, ATOME as a public company, having received positive legal advice, is mindful of its responsibilities to its shareholders and its obligations to protect its legitimate rights.
Against this background on 17 September 2026, ATOME PLC, through White & Case LLP, will today serve a Notice of Dispute and Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration on the Republic of Paraguay ("the Notice") pursuant to the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Paraguay for the Promotion and Protection of Investments ("the BIT").
The Notice states that an investment dispute exists as a result of Paraguay's alleged acts and omissions in violation of the BIT, including its revocation of the Presidential Decrees issued by the Paraguayan State that supported the Project and provided certainty on term and price under the PPA.
The Notice urges the Paraguayan State to engage in discussions to amicably resolve the matter.
The UK Government has been informed of the submission of the Notice as has the Embassies of the EU, France, Germany and the United States in Paraguay as well as the Paraguayan Embassy in London. In accordance with the BIT, the Notice states if the dispute has not been resolved within a period of three months i.e. a viable resolution not achieved ATOME will pursue its claim under the BIT against Paraguay at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington D.C.
If allowed to be completed, the Project would make Paraguay a world leader in the production of green fertiliser and the fertiliser industry in South America, strengthening local and international food security, creating some 4,000 jobs during construction and over 1,000 jobs during operations, and making material contributions to the country's GDP and economy.
ATOME will continue to make constructive efforts to amicably resolve the relevant issues but will pursue its rights under international law if it deems necessary.
ATOME will continue to keep the market informed at all material times and in the meantime all other projects of ATOME continue unaffected.
For more information, please visit https://www.atomeplc.com
About ATOME
ATOME PLC is an AIM-listed company leading the international development of green fertiliser with a pipeline of projects across Latin America.
ATOME's projects are situated at the heart of one of the world's largest food export hubs - the Mercosur region in the Southern Cone of South America with the Argentinian and Brazilian markets next door. ATOME's production will disrupt the region's heavy dependence on imported fossil fuel generated fertiliser, contributing to regional food security goals.
In May 2026, ATOME declared unconditional Final Investment Decision on its flagship Villeta Project, Paraguay following the completion of US$665 million project finance backed by leading international development finance institutions and private infrastructure investors including IDB Invest, the Inter-American Development Bank's ("IDB") private sector lending arm; the International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), the World Bank Group's private sector lending arm; the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank ("FMO"); the European Investment Bank ("EIB"), the lending arm of the European Union; the Green Climate Fund, which is administered by the World Bank; the German Investment Corporation ("DEG"), a subsidiary of KfW, Germany's State-owned investment and development bank; Impact Fund Denmark, an investment arm of the Danish Government; and Hy24, the world's first and largest hydrogen private equity asset manager.
The Villeta Project benefits from a minimum 10-year Definitive Offtake Agreement signed with Yara International, the leading international fertiliser company, for offtake of all of Villeta's green fertiliser production, as well as a US$465 million fixed-price EPC contract with leading ammonia and fertiliser engineering specialist Casale S.A.
Roughly a third of human caused GHG emissions is linked to food production according to UN data, and fertiliser use and production is the source of more emissions than the shipping and aviation industries combined. ATOME's green 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 renewably generated fertiliser is both low-carbon and provides a secure, stable alternative product not reliant on fossil fuels, unlike all nitrogen fertiliser production today.
The Company has a green-focused Board which is supported by major shareholders including Peter Levine, Schroders, a leading fund manager, Baker Hughes, a global energy technology company operating in the energy and industry sectors and Casale S.A, the Swiss-based ammonia and fertiliser specialist engineering firm and technology licensor.
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