Mejillones Ammonia Energy secures environmental approval for Atacama Desert project
By on January 19, 2026
Project clears key regulatory hurdle in Chile
Click to learn more. MAE’s Project Volta has received environmental approval, Chile’s first industrial-scale renewable ammonia project to do so. Source: MAE LinkedIn.
Mejillones Ammonia Energy (MAE) has secured approval for its Volta Project, becoming the “first industrial-scale green ammonia project to complete [Chile’s] environmental permitting process”. The $2.5 billion, 620,000 tons-per-year renewable ammonia project will be located in Mejillones, northern Chile’s industrial hub with proximity to key industrial offtakers and port infrastructure. Two phases of around 300,000 tons production capacity each will be constructed, with the first phase to start in 2027, with commercial production targeted for 2029.
The project will also “reuse 100% of Mejillones’ wastewater”, which is currently discharged into the ocean after primary treatment. Additional water will be sourced from existing desalination facilities that already hold environmental approval.
The Volta Project not only stands as the first industrial-scale green ammonia project to receive environmental approval in Chile, but it also paves the way for positioning northern Chile as a strategic hub for the decarbonization of local industries while also becoming a key global supplier of green ammonia.
Gonzalo Moyano, CEO of MAE, in his organisation’s official press release, 19 Dec 2025
We believe that the materialization of the Volta project will be of great relevance to consolidate the green ammonia industry from Mejillones. It is important that Chile can show concrete progress in the execution of the first projects of this new industry. As a company, we see great opportunities for the use of green ammonia in the energy transition of various local industries…The intensification of the incipient local demand for green ammonia will subsequently allow us to move towards export to other markets.
(translated by Google) Vice President of Engineering and Development of MAE, Ítalo Olivares, quoted in “Volta abre camino al hidrógeno y el amoniaco verde en Chile tras su aprobación ambiental”, El Mercurio de Antofagasta (13 Dec 2025)