ATOME set to expand its hydrogen growth with London Stock Exchange Listing, CEO reveals all – H2View
With 2021 drawing to a close, many companies within the hydrogen industry have now turned their eyes towards the future and 2022 could be a huge one for many. With the industry expected to maintain its significant momentum, the hydrogen market could well become an even more lucrative and significant energy vector.
One company that is aiming to continue its positive trajectory is ATOME Energy who recently revealed that the company will be listed on the London Stock Exchange with the benefits in doing so set to catapult ATOME to the forefront of the hydrogen economy.
To find out more about the company’s exciting future and what the company could achieve from the London Stock Exchange listing, H2 View spoke with Olivier Mussat, Chief Executive of ATOME Energy.
H2 View (H2V): Thanks for giving H2 View your time. To start with, could you tell me a bit about ATOME Energy and how it fits into the hydrogen space?
Olivier Mussat (OM): ATOME is positioned as the first pure-play green hydrogen and ammonia producer on the London Stock Exchange. Our primary focus is to invest in, develop and operate, scalable and fully green energy production projects to accelerate global decarbonisation targets.
With public and political will shifting towards a green economy, the production of hydrogen and ammonia via renewable energy is the only way to truly reduce the emissions of industries such as marine, agriculture and heavy goods transportation.
ATOME will capitalise on the recent advancements in electrolyser technology, improving efficiencies and a reduction in costs. This, coupled with rising gas prices, means that producing hydrogen from renewable energy is quickly becoming commercially viable.
ATOME’s founding projects are in Paraguay and Iceland, where it has experienced local management in place, through which ATOME is able to fast-track project development and discussions with equipment suppliers and off-takers. These conversations have been rapidly developing and we hope to be in a position to announce these agreements to the market soon.
On admission, ATOME’s shareholders will include its incubator, President Energy PLC, the AIM-listed oil and gas production company with assets in the US and South America which provides significant engineering and management experience, Trafigura, one of the world’s leading commodity supply and logistics company, and Schroders Investment Management.
H2V: What are some of the primary hydrogen projects that the company is involved with?
OM: ATOME’s first projects are focused on the production of green hydrogen and ammonia in Iceland and Paraguay. Our early focus on hydrogen and ammonia is to address an existing market and we have signed memoranda of understanding and agreements in place with key players 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 key to ATOME’s projects is capture plentiful reliable “green” low-cost baseload electricity. Both geothermal and hydro-energy are available on tap 24/7 and are not dependent on “variable” power like wind or solar. To optimise our assets, ATOME will be technologically agnostic and will apply a scalable, modular approach to construction. Being located next to existing sources of power, water and transport materially reduces Capex and Opex, project risk and lead times.
In Iceland, ATOME will act as a “green accelerator” for its subsidiary, Green Fuel, enabling it to reach first hydrogen and ammonia production by leveraging its expertise and direct funding. The installed geothermal power capacity available for our project is expected to reach up to 100MW by 2030.
In Paraguay, ATOME will use up to 250MW of power from Itaipu, the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world, to produce green hydrogen and ammonia, giving the country the opportunity to displace expensive imports of fertilisers and hydrocarbons with domestically produced green molecules.
ATOME will also actively develop and create the downstream market by engaging with shipping, trucking and commodity trading companies.
H2V:With ATOME soon to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, what does the company hope to achieve through this and how will it impact its hydrogen capabilities?
OM: ATOME is scheduled to be admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 30 December 2021. In conjunction with the listing, the Company has raised £9m for the development of its projects in Iceland and Paraguay, in order to fast track them to a final investment decision in 2022.
ATOME will then be able to progress its various workstreams, including, obtaining definitive power purchase agreements, water supply and EPC contracts. Additionally, ATOME will mobilise the necessary sources of funding to complete the projects targeting first hydrogen and ammonia production in early 2024.
H2V: What can we expect to see from ATOME Energy in 2022?
OM: As we work towards the final investment decision for the projects, we expect to make several announcements regarding the contractual and technical development stages. ATOME has also been working to finalise the power purchase agreements, as well as a selection of engineering, procurement and construction contracts.
Beyond the initial construction of the production facilities, ATOME has also been working with a number of offtakers for ATOME’s green molecules. In addition, the Company has been working with some shipping companies, helping to enable their decarbonisation strategies.
H2V: I understand that the primary focus of ATOME’s hydrogen operations have been in Paraguay and Iceland. Are there any plans to branch into more countries in the near future?
OM: Our objective is to establish and develop ATOME’s founding projects at pace. Iceland and Paraguay are members of the EU and Mercosur markets, respectively, where there is significant demand for green hydrogen and ammonia. ATOME’s short-term focus is to get ATOME’s projects to “first hydrogen” by early 2024 to capitalise on our early-mover advantage. Both projects have potential to expand in further phases and move from serving the domestic market to international exports.
In parallel, we will also be involved in creating the market for green molecules by working closely with the transport and shipping sectors. ATOME and its management believe in the global future of green hydrogen, and we will consider consolidating other projects at the right time in the future, and for the right opportunity.