Green fertilizer plant to break ground in Paraguay

Throttled traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is highlighting the grip hydrocarbons’ hold on global food production as a result of reliance on fossil fuel-based fertilizers, but a new project in Latin America could pave the way for the production of low-carbon alternatives at an industrial scale.

Green fertilizer developer Atome will go ahead with a 260,000-ton-per-year plant in Villeta, Paraguay, the first industrial-scale facility of its kind to hit that milestone, CEO Olivier Mussat told Semafor. The plant will feed on renewable power from Paraguay’s vast Itaipu dam to produce hydrogen by splitting water through electrolysis, which is then combined with nitrogen to create zero-carbon ammonia. The plant is expected to start supplying fertilizers to Latin American markets by early 2029, offering some respite to a region that is critical to global crop exports yet dependent on fertilizer imports. “What [the war] is showing you is that there is a systemic problem,” Mussat said. “A problem of security of supply.”