Through its Paraguayan subsidiary, ATOME Paraguay, the company has entered into the freehold purchase contract to acquire the site, with completion scheduled in four months at a price of $900,000 with a 10% deposit already having been paid.

Coming as part of the first phase of ATOME’s plans to establish 400MW of capacity in the South American country, the Villeta facility site provides room for expansion and will facilitate the ability to store and act as a delivery point for its Paraguay production.

The purchase follows shortly on from ATOME announcing it had signed a 60MW power purchase agreement and subsequently awarding a front end engineering design (FEED) contract in relation to Civil and Electrochemical works at the Villeta substation.

Read more: ATOME appoints FEED contractor for 400MW Paraguay green hydrogen and ammonia project

Read more: Large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia progress in Paraguay

H2 View understands the site sits adjacent to the national power distribution company, ANDE Villeta substation, as well as being situated near the major Villeta port facilities on the river Paraguay, only 35km from the capital, Asuncion, offering access to the Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, the site is close to major fertiliser distribution companies who currently import all ingredients for the products they sell from outside of Paraguay, including Russia and China, offering a local supply of ammonia.

Read more: ATOME: A market-focused approach to the hydrogen economy

“As we continue to make progress, the acquisition of the Villeta site is the next step on our critical path to achieve ATOME’s business plan and vision to fast-track our projects by locating near the source of power,” said, Olivier Mussat, CEO of ATOME. “Accordingly, we were very pleased to come to an agreement to secure freehold land adjacent to ANDE’s substation, near potential end customers and export facilities.

“The large 75 acre footprint not only enables ATOME to have room for future expansion and facilitation of storage, but it also gives ATOME the scale to grow its business footprint and attract associated industries and provide new sustainable jobs. This is a great opportunity to bring in third party complimentary businesses in the energy and fertiliser value chains, creating wealth for the country and value for our shareholders.”