UK-based ATOME Energy Plc is on track to raise between $180-$240 million this year to build a green ammonia plant in Paraguay, ATOME Paraguay President James Spalding told Bloomberg.
“We hope to begin construction before the end of the year after the final investment decision,” said Spalding in an interview at his office in the capital Asuncion. He said the 100,000 mt/y plant, to be built at the company’s 75-acre site in Villeta, south of Asuncion, is scheduled to start production in second-half 2025.
Paraguay, a landlocked country about the size of California, enjoys a vast surplus of cheap hydroelectric power needed for green ammonia production. Last year, ATOME doubled the capacity of its power purchase agreement with state-run utility ANDE to 120 megawatts (GM Dec. 2, 2022).
“It’s not the same to do a green hydrogen project with solar or wind versus hydro, which is 24/7 in terms of power generation,” Spalding said. “So that should also give us more production in the year.”
Europe and Japan have emerged as potential export markets as ATOME negotiates offtake agreements with international fertilizer companies and commodities trading houses, he said. “Demand is allowing us to think on a global scale. Europe becomes a strong possibility.”