Granular, a European stevia producer, has entered into a joint partnership to build a refinery for the natural sweetener in South America, which it said will be environment-friendly. The Swedish company said the new facility would be run entirely on solar energy, outdoor heat energy and in-house produced biogas, making the plant energy self-sufficient.

It will be built in Caaguazú, Paraguay, on the site of an old Coca Cola production plant which is owned by Dr Nicolás Leoz, Granular’s partner in this venture. Granular’s overall investment in Paraguay, which includes corporate social responsibility commitments to support local farmers, is expected to be between $ 20-40 million and the 400 tonne refinery is due to be operational in 2010-11.

The South American refinery is expected to serve both the European and US markets and will make use of zero environmental impact technology developed in Sweden.

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