The company is now finalising financial structuring and definitive agreements with equity and debt providers, with FID targeted for early 2026.

Atome said it has been “methodically addressing the conditions necessary to expeditiously achieve FID” for the $630m project.

Ahead of financial close, detailed engineering work is underway with EPC contractor Casale and Atome’s own internal engineering division.

The firm’s CEO, Olivier Mussat, said with the key pieces now in place, “we are focused on moving to close out FID and start building.”

He added, “Following all the milestones delivered in 2025, marking the end of the technical and commercial project work, bringing competitive debt financing led by multilateral banks and now the successful constitution of the equity participants, means that we are a short step away from bringing Villeta to reality.”

Fertiliser major Yara has already agreed to offtake the plant’s total output under a 10-year deal.

The update follows Atome securing up to $200m in debt support from IDB Invest and a further $100m in debt and equity financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

These commitments form the backbone of the Villeta project’s capital structure.