Admission to AIM and First Day of Dealings

RNS Number : 9768W

ATOME Energy PLC

30 December 2021

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR NEW ZEALAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OR BREACH OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW

30 December 2021

ATOME ENERGY PLC

("ATOME" or the "Company")

Admission to Trading on AIM

First day of dealings

ATOME has received the prestigious London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark

ATOME Energy (AIM: ATOM), the international company focused on green hydrogen and ammonia production, sales and marketing with current projects in Iceland and Paraguay, is pleased to announce that its entire issued ordinary share capital will today be admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Market ("Admission"). Dealings will commence at 8:00 a.m. today, Thursday 30 December 2021, under the ticker "ATOM" (ISIN: GB00BP4BSM10). The Company's SEDOL is BP4BSM1. The Company's Admission Document can be viewed at the website of the Company at www.atomeplc.com.

ATOME, as the first and currently only company solely focusing on being a producer of green hydrogen and ammonia to have its shares traded on the London Stock Market, offers investors access not only to potential upstream manufacturing of green hydrogen and ammonia but also through its established in country contacts and shareholder base to the all-important downstream offtake market.

The Directors believe that ATOME has through its carefully planned and implemented business model a significant opportunity to fast track and be at the forefront of the international development of green hydrogen and ammonia as future fuel.

Green hydrogen and ammonia are an essential part of the matrix of renewable energy sources to decarbonise the global economy where they can address hard to abate carbon footprints of industries such as heavy transport, marine and steel and concrete manufacturing as well as enabling the large-scale production of green fertilisers. As such they have been referred to as the swiss army knife of energy providing multiple solutions in sectors where renewable alternatives such as rechargeable batteries have no answer.

In addition to being a valuable part of the armoury in decarbonisation, with the recent significant increase in the prices of fossil fuels which are still used to generate over 95% of hydrogen current production, ATOME's green projects are expected to have significant potential end market cost benefits; one example being in agriculture where ammonia a key component in fertilisers has doubled in price over the last twelve months to over US$1,000 per tonne due directly to the substantial rise in the cost of natural gas.

The Company has accordingly selected its projects to take advantage of available low-cost pure green power in sufficient amounts so as to build businesses of scale in fiscally benign countries with not only domestic demand but which are also located within international trading blocks. ATOME has targeted commencement of production for the first part of 2024 and expects to benefit in the future from the projected reduction in the price of electrolyser and other manufacturing equipment used in the production process combined with the advent of new technologies offering greater economies with an increasing number of suppliers coming into the market providing greater choice and competitive tension for the benefit of purchasers of such equipment.

Key points

· Successful fundraise of up to £9 million at 80p per share sufficient in the opinion of the Directors to progress ATOME's projects up to formal commitments on plant procurement and infrastructure investment and the entry into formal power purchase agreements (the "Final Investment Decision" or "FID") without any further additional funding, which the directors believe will be a significant value creation catalyst for ATOME

· £6 million has been raised through the Placing and PrimaryBid Offer. The balance of up to £3 million will be made available at the placing price only if the Directors determine it is needed by way of the Standby Equity Facility Agreement from the investment fund of Peter Levine, the Chairman and significant shareholder which facility has been granted at no direct or indirect cost to ATOME

· FID targeted to be reached by end H1 2022 with first potential production targeted for the first part of 2024

· ATOME has qualified and been recognised as one of the select number of public traded companies contributing to the global green economy by receiving the London Stock Exchange's prestigious Green Economy Mark, supporting ATOME in communicating the Company's green credentials to investors and other stakeholders, whilst highlighting the mission of ATOME to support the transition to a net zero economy and meaningfully mitigate the impacts of climate change

· Oliver Mussat, the CEO, formerly the Chief Investment Officer for Global Energy at IFC, part of the World Bank Group, heads an experienced green management team

· The locations of ATOME's projects in Iceland and Paraguay have been strategically selected for their readily available adequate supply of low-cost stable baseload green energy and significant established domestic-end markets with export potential in the two large multi-national trading zones of the EU and Mercosur countries

· In Iceland, ATOME through its 75% owned local subsidiary, Green Fuel ehf, which is targeting first hydrogen and ammonia production in 2024 utilising up to 100 megawatts ("MW") geothermal power from the National power supplier and benefiting from Green Fuel's local management, in country knowledge, technical expertise and commercial downstream end market contacts as well as the potential of export markets in the EU and EFTA countries

· In Paraguay, ATOME through its wholly owned subsidiary ATOME Paraguay is targeting the supply of green renewable electricity of up to 250 MW of power from Itaipu, the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world by output with conditional arrangements in place with Itaipu's Technology Park to locate ATOME's main production facility adjacent to the dam near the intersecting border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. ATOME using its established local management base and in country experience has as part of its business plan the development of the downstream domestic market by engaging with shipping, trucking, fertiliser, retail fuel and commodity trading companies as well as benefiting from Paraguay's membership of the Mercosur multi-national trading organisation

· Strong and supportive significant shareholder base including the energy entrepreneur Peter Levine, Schroders Fund Management and Trafigura, one of the world's largest commodity traders, energy offtakers and logistics companies

Further information is available at ATOME's website at www.atomeplc.com and by following ATOME on Twitter @atomehydrogen.

Oliver Mussat, CEO of ATOME Energy, commented:

"Today marks an important milestone for both ATOME and the London market's place in the transition to a green economy. ATOME is the first dedicated and currently only company targeting green hydrogen and ammonia production to have its shares traded on London Stock Market, with both commodities expected to play a key role in the decarbonisation of future energy supply.

"We are proud of the award of London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark. This prestigious classification represents our commitment as a company to meaningfully mitigate the impacts of climate change and is a clear message to our investors and other stakeholders of the commitment of ATOME in supporting the transition to net zero.

"We have assembled a green-focused Board whose complementary skills and experience across the energy value chain demonstrate that we can deliver these projects. Both Board and management made a material contribution to the fundraise and are thus fully aligned with our new investors. I would like to thank the Board, along with our advisers and significant shareholders including Peter Levine, our Chairman, Trafigura, one of the world's leading commodity, energy and logistics companies, and fund manager Schroders for their continued guidance and support.

"With the funding secured, ATOME is in a position to rapidly progress its projects in Iceland and Paraguay towards Final Investment Decision (or FID) in both countries. The projects both plan to deliver green energy using mature technology and low-cost baseload power which is available on-tap in both locations. Our projects have government support and accessible markets which need green hydrogen and ammonia to reach their net zero targets, and ATOME is positioned to capitalise on this.

"We have an exciting road ahead as nations implement decarbonisation strategies with green hydrogen and ammonia at their heart. We look forward to updating shareholders on ATOME's progress during 2022 with increasing newsflow as we move towards FID, commencing with a live Investor Meet presentation to which all shareholders, analysts and prospective investors will be invited at a date to be announced in January."

For more information, please visit https://www.atomeplc.com or contact:

ATOME ENERGY PLC	[phone]
Nikita Levine, Investor Relations	[e-mail]
Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser)	[phone]
Roland Cornish, Michael Cornish
finnCap (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Christopher Raggett, Tim Harper
SP Angel (Joint Broker) Richard Hail, Caroline Rowe	[phone]
Tavistock (Financial PR and IR)	[phone]
Simon Hudson, Rebecca Hislaire, Charles Baister	a [e-mail]

Capitalised terms used in this announcement and not separately defined shall have the meaning given to them in the Company's Admission Document.

Notes to Editors

ATOME Energy Plc is an AIM listed company targeting green hydrogen and ammonia production with up to 350-megawatt projects in Paraguay and Iceland, through its subsidiaries ATOME Paraguay, which is wholly owned, and Green Fuel ehf, in which ATOME Energy holds a 75 per cent interest, respectively.

ATOME has commenced operational planning, sourcing and negotiations with green electricity suppliers, equipment providers and offtake partners, including signed memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements in place with key parties including national power companies, to use electricity generated from existing geothermal sources in Iceland and hydroelectric power in Paraguay. Both sites are located close to the power and water sources and export facilities to serve significant domestic and then international demand.

The Company has a green-focused Board which is supported by major shareholders including Peter Levine, Trafigura, one of the world's leading commodity and logistics company, and Schroders, a leading fund manager.

Important Notices

This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall it (or any part of it), or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract or commitment whatsoever relating to any securities.

Recipients of this announcement who intend to purchase or subscribe for shares in the Company are reminded that any such purchase or subscription must only be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the final Admission Document relating to the Company.

This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities in the United States or to US Persons. Shares of the Company may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US Persons without being registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("U.S. Securities Act") or an available exemption from such registration. The Company does not presently intend to register any securities under the U. S. Securities Act and no public offering of shares is being or will be made in the United States or to US Persons.

The information contained in this announcement is not for publication or distribution in, into or from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa or New Zealand or any other jurisdiction where to do so might constitute a violation or breach of any applicable law ("Restricted Territories"). Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of Restricted Territories securities laws. This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the Restricted Territories where such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained herein, will not be accepted.

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's nominated adviser and is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or the proposed admission of the Enlarged Share Capital to trading on AIM.

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP ("SP Angel"), which is a member of the London Stock Exchange and which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as broker to the Company in connection with the Placing and is advising no one else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for advising any other person in relation to the Placing or otherwise.

finnCap Limited ("finnCap"), which is a member of the London Stock Exchange and which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as broker to the Company in connection with the Placing and is advising no one else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for advising any other person in relation to the Placing or otherwise.

For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of the Group's websites are not incorporated by reference into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement are or may constitute "forward-looking statements", including statements about current beliefs and expectations of the Directors. In particular, the words "envisage", "projects", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "should", "plan", "intend", "will", "would", "could", "target", "believe" and similar expressions (or in each case their negative and other variations or comparable terminology) can be used to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the Board's expectations of external conditions and events, current business strategy, plans and the other objectives of management for future operations and estimates and projections of the Group's financial and operational performance. Though the Board believes these expectations to be reasonable at the date of this announcement, they may prove to be erroneous. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, achievements or performance of the Group, or the industry in which the Group operates, to be materially different from any future results, achievements or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this announcement speaks only as of the date it is made. Save as required by law or regulation or the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any forward looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in the Board's expectations or in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement. Any forward looking statement in this announcement based on past or current trends and/or activities of the Group should not be taken as a representation or assurance that such trends or activities will continue in the future. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or to imply that the earnings of the Group for the current year or future years will match or exceed the historical or published earnings of the Group

-ends-

 

END

 

 

MSCPPGCPPUPGGAB