FMO , the Dutch business development bank, announced a guaranteed loan of up to US$94.8 million to support ATOME Paraguay SAE in financing the Villeta Green Fertilizer Project, one of the world's first industrial-scale facilities to produce green nitrogen fertilizers using green hydrogen generated from 100% renewable electricity. With a total project cost of US$664.4 million, the Villeta plant will produce approximately 260,000 metric tons of green calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) annually, replacing the production of highly polluting gray fertilizers with a fully renewable alternative. The project is made possible by Paraguay's abundant hydroelectric resources, which provide reliable and low-cost baseload electricity, enabling Villeta to operate a competitive green fertilizer in a market dominated by gray fertilizers.
Access to stable green baseload energy at competitive prices significantly strengthens the long-term viability of the project.
Cost competitiveness is further enhanced by the project's Free Trade Zone status, stable electricity rates, access to local dolomite supplies, and its strategic location at the heart of the Mercosur fertilizer consumption corridor. The FMO loan is part of a broader financing package with IDB Invest, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the IFC, and the Green Climate Fund, enabling one of the first globally significant projects for green hydrogen-based fertilizer production to move toward full financing and construction in an emerging market.
A new benchmark for green industrial production in emerging markets. Villeta stands out for its fully integrated design, which combines green hydrogen production, green ammonia synthesis, and CAN fertilizer manufacturing in a single location.The plant will operate exclusively on green electricity from the Paraguayan grid, under a long-term power purchase agreement with ANDE, guaranteeing a highly predictable input cost base and a stable operating profile.
The project's commercial fundamentals are strengthened by a long-term "take or pay" purchase agreement with Yara International, one of the world's largest fertilizer companies—a rare structure in the global green hydrogen sector that significantly reduces market risk over the project's operational years. Furthermore, Villeta is expected to contribute to the resilience of regional food systems by supplying sustainably produced fertilizers to one of the world's largest agricultural markets.Brazil and Argentina together represent significant global imports of fertilizers, and the project's location within Mercosur offers a logistical and cost advantage over imported products derived from fossil fuels.
Marnix Monsfort, FMO's Director of Energy, stated: "At FMO we are proud to support the Villeta project, an innovative project that demonstrates the viability of large-scale green hydrogen solutions in emerging markets."This project also represents the realization of our ambitions in the green hydrogen sector, a strategy we began developing three years ago."
"Its combination of competitive renewable energy, strong industrial partners and long-term market certainty creates a model for climate-aligned industrial development.We hope to be joint pioneers in this next stage of sustainable fertilizer production in Paraguay and to continue developing the green hydrogen sector in Paraguay and beyond, he added.
Olivier Mussat, CEO of ATOME PLC, said: “We greatly appreciate FMO’s support for this flagship project, which ATOME has championed since its inception.Our Villeta plant allows for the industrial-scale production of fertilizers without relying on fossil fuels, a crucial step forward for global food security and the long-term profitability of agricultural supply chains.
Together with the financial coalition we have created, FMO's support demonstrates that organic fertilizers are not only environmentally essential, but also an attractive and sustainable business opportunity."