Atome has secured up to $200m in debt financing from the Inter-American Development Bank Group’s private sector arm, IDB Invest, for its planned 145MW green hydrogen-based fertiliser plant in Paraguay.

The IDB Invest package comprises senior debt, blended finance, and a letter-of-credit-backed reserve facility.

The funding will form a critical part of the $630m Villeta project, which will use green hydrogen to produce around 260,000 tonnes of green calcium ammonium nitrate per year.

Fertiliser major Yara has already agreed to offtake the plant’s total output under a 10-year deal.

The IDB Invest package is conditional only on the finalisation and execution of agreed debt and project documentation, as well as the closing of the project’s equity package at financial close.

Last month Atome secured up to$100m in debt and equity financing from the International Finance Corporation for the development.

The company expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) this year, with Swiss engineering firm Casale lined up to deliver the project under a $465m EPC contract.

The Villeta project has been years in the making and would represent a significant milestone for clean fertilisers and green hydrogen production.