Hydrogen infrastructure fund manager Hy24 is planning to invest up to $115m (€110m) to help Atome advance its green fertiliser project in Paraguay.
Hy24, through its Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund, has agreed in principle to become the anchor and lead equity investor in Atome’s 260,000-tonne green fertiliser project in Villeta by investing between $100m and $115m.
The deal also includes Hy24 advancing up to $5m to Atome before the final investment decision, subject to certain targets being met.
Pierre-Etienne Franc, CEO and co-founder of Hy24, said: “This marks Hy24’s first step toward a potential direct investment in the region through our Clean H2 Infra Fund. We are committed to supporting the most promising project developers who contribute to providing cleaner alternatives.
Atome‘s Villeta project is one of South America’s most advanced green fertiliser initiatives, driven by Paraguay’s exceptional renewable resources, a highly experienced team that has effectively advanced the project’s development, and strong offtake potential within the Mercosur region.”
Olivier Mussat, CEO of Atome, said: “We welcome Hy24, a worldwide leader in hydrogen private equity finance, as an anchor equity investor and are excited to bring the project to full financial close in the first half of this year.
“The Hy24 team has demonstrated deep industry expertise that will accelerate our project development. This demonstrates the substantial value in Atome’s business model of developing shovel-ready projects that combine market offtake and strong financial returns with significant development impact, backed by our proven management expertise.”
Atome has signed non-binding terms with Yara International for the offtake of all Villeta’s green fertiliser production. A definitive offtake agreement is expected by early second quarter of the year.
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