With Only 45,000 Inhabitants, Paraná City Will Host Billion-Dollar Corn Ethanol Refinery With R$ 2 Billion Investment

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 06/08/2025 at 18:26

Foto: Com apenas 45 mil habitantes, cidade do Paraná vai abrigar refinaria bilionária de etanol de milho com investimento de R$ 2 bilhões

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With R$ 2 Billion in Investment, City of Lapa (PR) Will Have the Largest Corn Ethanol Refinery in Southern Brazil. Group Potencial’s Project Marks a New Phase of National Bioenergy.

In a move that reinforces Paraná’s prominence in the biofuels sector, the city of Lapa, with just over 45,000 residents, has been chosen to host a billion-dollar corn ethanol refinery. The investment, estimated at R$ 2 billion, will be made by Group Potencial and will position the municipality as a national reference in clean energy and industrial innovation.

The project is in the design phase and is expected to begin construction in 2026, with operations scheduled to start in 2028. The new facility will have the capacity to process 3,000 tons of corn per day and produce up to 450 million liters of ethanol per year, making it the largest corn ethanol refinery in the Southern region and the tenth largest in Brazil—besides representing the largest plant of its kind outside the Central-West, until now the main hub of the sector.

Corn Ethanol Refinery: R$ 2 Billion to Transform the Interior of Paraná

The announcement was made in the presence of Governor Ratinho Junior, who highlighted the strategic role of the new refinery in the sustainable industrialization of the state’s agricultural production.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Group Potencial Expands Presence with Mega Investment in Biofuels

The new plant is part of a long-term strategy by Group Potencial to establish itself as a leader in energy transition in Brazil. The company already has an industrial complex in Lapa that includes:

The largest refined glycerin plant in the Americas, with a production of 80,000 tons per year;
A soybean crush facility, nearing completion, with a capacity to process 3,500 tons per day;
A biodiesel plant already in full operation.

With the corn ethanol refinery, the company’s total investments in the region exceed R$ 6 billion in just over a decade, consolidating the municipality of Lapa as an energy and agro-industrial hub.

Billion-Dollar Ethanol Refinery Will Also Bring Investments in Infrastructure

In addition to the construction of the plant, the group will invest R$ 200 million in logistics infrastructure to ensure supply and distribution of production. Two pipelines are planned, one for ethanol and another for biodiesel, connecting the city of Araucária to the industrial complex in Lapa.

Compagas will also be part of the operation, with an investment of over R$ 100 million in the construction of a pipeline that will provide natural gas in a cleaner and more efficient manner for the group’s operations.

“It’s an investment that takes trucks off the road and provides energy in a resilient way,” highlighted Eudis Furtado, CEO of Compagas.

National Corn Ethanol Production is Experiencing Accelerated Expansion

According to the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry Union (Unica), Brazil produced 8.2 billion liters of corn ethanol in the 2024/2025 harvest, a growth of 31% compared to the previous cycle.

Unem (National Union of Corn Ethanol) projects that by 2025, the volume will reach 10 billion liters, with expectations of R$ 40 billion in investments in the sector in the next decade.

Currently, the Central-West region concentrates most of the plants, but the arrival of robust projects in the southern part of the country, such as Potencial’s in Lapa and Coamo Agroindustrial Cooperative’s in Campo Mourão (with an investment of R$ 1.7 billion), is redistributing the production map.

The New Refinery and the Commitment to Energy Transition

For Potencial’s vice president, Carlos Eduardo Hammerschmidt, the new project reinforces the group’s commitment to a cleaner energy matrix:

“We are directing our investments towards projects that combine innovation, efficiency, and environmental commitment. The new plant is another step in this journey, reiterating Potencial’s purpose to lead sustainable evolution.”

The refinery will also produce valuable byproducts, such as corn meal for animal feed and oil for biodiesel production, maximizing the use of raw materials and adding value to the final product.

Ethanol Refinery Strengthens Paraná’s Agricultural and Energy Vocations

The new investment fits into a favorable context for the state. Paraná has stood out in corn production and in the adoption of sustainable solutions in agriculture. The installation of one of Brazil’s largest refineries reinforces this vocation and attracts new production chains to the interior.

With an estimated annual state demand for ethanol of 1.2 billion liters, increasing the local supply also reduces logistical costs and enhances regional energy security.

With just 45,000 residents, the city of Lapa is about to become an epicenter of Brazilian bioenergy. The construction of the billion-dollar corn ethanol refinery, combined with other industrial investments, consolidates the municipality as a reference in energy transition, innovation, and sustainable agro-industrialization.

At a time when Brazil seeks to diversify its energy matrix and strengthen the green economy, initiatives like this show that even small towns can play a huge role in the country’s transformation.

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Nicriato

#156337

09/08/2025 10:17

Nossa que coisa ****, etanol de milho é uma ****, é 10% do potencial de produção da cama de açúcar.

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With Only 45,000 Inhabitants, Paraná City Will Host Billion-Dollar Corn Ethanol Refinery With R$ 2 Billion Investment

With R$ 2 Billion in Investment, City of Lapa (PR) Will Have the Largest Corn Ethanol Refinery in Southern Brazil. Group Potencial’s Project Marks a New Phase of National Bioenergy.

Corn Ethanol Refinery: R$ 2 Billion to Transform the Interior of Paraná

Group Potencial Expands Presence with Mega Investment in Biofuels

Billion-Dollar Ethanol Refinery Will Also Bring Investments in Infrastructure

National Corn Ethanol Production is Experiencing Accelerated Expansion

The New Refinery and the Commitment to Energy Transition

Ethanol Refinery Strengthens Paraná’s Agricultural and Energy Vocations

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With Only 45,000 Inhabitants, Paraná City Will Host Billion-Dollar Corn Ethanol Refinery With R$ 2 Billion Investment

With R$ 2 Billion in Investment, City of Lapa (PR) Will Have the Largest Corn Ethanol Refinery in Southern Brazil. Group Potencial’s Project Marks a New Phase of National Bioenergy.

Corn Ethanol Refinery: R$ 2 Billion to Transform the Interior of Paraná

Group Potencial Expands Presence with Mega Investment in Biofuels

Billion-Dollar Ethanol Refinery Will Also Bring Investments in Infrastructure

National Corn Ethanol Production is Experiencing Accelerated Expansion

The New Refinery and the Commitment to Energy Transition

Ethanol Refinery Strengthens Paraná’s Agricultural and Energy Vocations

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