UK fertilizer company Atome has taken a final investment decision (FID) on its 260,000 t/yr Villeta green fertilizers project in Paraguay.
The decision follows several delays to the project, caused by engineering-phase setbacks. Atome listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2021 and initially aimed to reach FID by mid-2022.
Construction is planned to start "shortly" following FID and full production is expected to begin in or before October 2029, Atome said.
The $665mn Villeta project is the largest electrolysis project to pass FID in Latin America. It will have a 120MW electrolyser, which will be powered by hydropower from state-owned utility Ande.
Atome has secured financing for the Villeta project from a number of multilateral institutions and development banks, including the World Bank, the Green Climate Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank. But unlike most hydrogen projects globally, Atome has managed to reach FID without government subsidies.
The project's equity investment is led by French hydrogen-focused fund Hy24.
Fertilizers produced in Villeta will be supplied to Norway's Yara under a binding 10-year offtake deal agreed last year, aiming to serve demand in South America.

