The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO has announced a guaranteed loan of up to USD 94.8 million to support ATOME Paraguay SAE in financing the Villeta Green Fertiliser Project, one of the world’s first industrial-scale facilities designed to produce green nitrogen fertilisers using green hydrogen generated entirely from renewable electricity.
With a total project cost of USD 664.4 million, the Villeta plant is expected to produce approximately 260,000 metric tonnes per year of green calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN). The project aims to replace highly polluting conventional fertiliser production—commonly referred to as “grey fertilisers”—with a fully renewable pathway.
The project leverages Paraguay’s abundant hydropower resources, which provide reliable and low-cost baseload electricity. This allows the Villeta facility to operate with cost-competitive green fertiliser production in a global market still dominated by fossil-fuel-based fertilisers.
Access to stable, low-cost renewable baseload power significantly strengthens the project’s long-term viability. Cost competitiveness is further enhanced by the project’s Free Trade Zone status, stable electricity tariffs, access to local dolomite supply, and its strategic location at the centre of the Mercosur fertiliser consumption corridor.
FMO’s loan forms part of a broader financing package alongside BID Invest, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Green Climate Fund.
Together, these institutions are supporting one of the first globally significant projects to produce fertilisers using green hydrogen in an emerging market, enabling the development to move toward full financing and construction.
The Villeta project stands out due to its fully integrated design, combining:
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Green hydrogen production
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Green ammonia synthesis
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Calcium ammonium nitrate fertiliser manufacturing
All processes will take place on a single industrial site.
The facility will operate exclusively on renewable electricity supplied through Paraguay’s national grid under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with ANDE, the Paraguayan state-owned electricity utility. This arrangement ensures a highly predictable input cost structure and a stable operational profile.
The project’s commercial fundamentals are further strengthened by a long-term “take-or-pay” offtake agreement with Yara International, one of the world’s largest fertiliser companies. Such agreements remain relatively rare in the global green hydrogen sector, significantly reducing market risk during the plant’s operational years.
Villeta is also expected to strengthen the resilience of regional food systems by supplying sustainably produced fertilisers to one of the world’s largest agricultural markets.
Brazil and Argentina together represent major global fertiliser importers, and the project’s location within the Mercosur trade bloc offers a logistical and cost advantage over imported fertilisers derived from fossil fuels.
Executive perspectives
Marnix Monsfort, Director of Energy at FMO, said:
“At FMO, we are proud to support the Villeta project, an innovative initiative demonstrating the viability of large-scale green hydrogen solutions in emerging markets. This project also represents the realisation 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 look forward to jointly pioneering this next stage of sustainable fertiliser production in Paraguay and continuing to develop the green hydrogen sector both in Paraguay and beyond.”
Olivier Mussat, CEO of ATOME PLC, added:
“We greatly value FMO’s support for this flagship project, which ATOME has driven since its inception. Our Villeta plant enables fertiliser production at industrial scale without relying on fossil fuels — a crucial step for global food security and the long-term profitability of agricultural supply chains.”
“Together with the financial coalition we have assembled, FMO’s backing demonstrates that green fertilisers are not only environmentally essential but also an attractive and sustainable business opportunity.”
