ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Verenium Corporation , a leading developer of biofuels derived from low-cost, abundant biomass and a developer of specialty enzyme products, today presented the University of Florida a $66,000 royalty check for its patented cellulosic ethanol technology.
The ceremonial presentation was made at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' 2007 Farm-to-Fuel Summit -- an event aimed at helping Florida farmers and ranchers produce biofuel crops to help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
The royalty payment is from the first commercial production of biomass ethanol produced using patented technology developed by Dr. Lonnie Ingram, a Distinguished Professor in UF's Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, and Director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, and licensed to Verenium. BioEthanol Japan -- a joint venture of Marubeni Corp. and Tsukishima Kikai Co., LTD -- is using the technology under license from Verenium in their 1.4 million liter-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Osaka, Japan. It is the world's first commercial plant to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood construction waste.
Cellulosic ethanol is an environmentally friendly and renewable transportation fuel produced from a wide array of feedstocks, including sugarcane bagasse, dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, and wood products.
"This initial royalty payment represents a true milestone in our long and productive partnership with the University of Florida," said Carlos A. Riva, Verenium's President and Chief Executive Officer. "It demonstrates the very real commercial potential for this technology and the fact that technology transfer is alive and well in Florida. Moreover, this check is tangible proof that the commercial success of Verenium's technology will benefit the University and its stakeholders."
Timothy R. Eves, Verenium's Florida Vice President of Business Development, presented the royalty check to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Jimmy Cheek, the University of Florida's senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
"It is exciting to see what was once just a vision come to fruition," Bronson said. "I am confident this is only the beginning of Florida's front and center role in the development of environmentally friendly alternative fuels."
Added Cheek: "I am pleased to accept this check for the University of Florida. It is a symbol of our successful research that is contributing to making alternate fuels available. This technology can convert crops, trees, and yard and agricultural waste to fuel. Imagine converting kudzu to fuel. Professor Ingram did. The impact is global."
"Dr. Ingram is a pioneer in the development of environmentally sustainable ethanol technologies," said Win Phillips, UF's Vice President for Research. "The University is pleased to be partnering with Verenium to move this important technology out of the laboratory and into commercial use, where it can help reduce greenhouse gases and make the U.S. more energy independent."
Verenium operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Jennings, Louisiana, that is a centerpiece of the company's ongoing research and development efforts. In February 2007, Verenium also broke ground on the first demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in the United States. The company expects to achieve mechanical completion of this project, located adjacent to the Jennings pilot facility and rated for 1.4 million gallons per year, by the end of 2007.
In Florida, where Verenium operates a research laboratory at the University of Florida's Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Incubator in Alachua, the company is looking to build its own cellulosic ethanol plant in partnership with a large landowner or agricultural interest.
"The Florida climate is ideal for growing the feedstocks needed to produce cellulosic ethanol," said Eves, an energy industry veteran who joined Verenium in June. "We've opened an office in Tampa, and we're committed to the further expansion of our presence in the state."
About the University of Florida
The University of Florida is one of the nation's leading research institutions, receiving more than $518 million in funding annually to conduct research in agriculture, health sciences, engineering and many other fields. UF's Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) manages almost 300 disclosures per year generated from the cutting-edge research that takes place throughout the institution. OTL has partnered with companies throughout Florida, the Southeast and nationally to assist in the movement of technologies to the marketplace and welcomes the opportunity to work with companies interested in such a partnership. For more information, visit the website at http://www.otl.ufl.edu/ or email
About Verenium
Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as high-performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and health and nutrition markets. The Company possesses integrated, end-to-end capabilities in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation, engineering, and project development and is moving rapidly to commercialize its proprietary technology for the production of ethanol from a wide array of feedstocks, including sugarcane bagasse, dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, and wood products. In addition to the vast potential for biofuels, a multitude of large-scale industrial opportunities exist for the Company for products derived from the production of low-cost, biomass-derived sugars.
Verenium's Specialty Enzyme business harnesses the power of enzymes to create a broad range of specialty products to meet high-value commercial needs. Verenium's world class R&D organization is renowned for its capabilities in the rapid screening, identification, and expression of enzymes -- proteins that act as the catalysts of biochemical reactions.
Verenium recently completed a significant upgrade of one of the nation's first operational cellulosic ethanol pilot facilities located in Jennings, Louisiana and expects to achieve mechanical completion of a 1.4 million gallon-per-year, demonstration-scale facility to produce cellulosic ethanol by the end of 2007. In addition, the Company's process technology has been licensed by Tokyo-based Marubeni Corp. and Tsukishima Kikai Co., LTD and has been incorporated into BioEthanol Japan's 1.4 million liter-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Osaka, Japan -- the world's first commercial-scale plant to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood construction waste. For more information on Verenium, visit http://www.verenium.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" and involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty. These include statements related to the commercial potential for, and the commercial success of, the cellulosic ethanol technology licensed by Verenium from the University of Florida, cellulosic ethanol's environmental benefits and contribution to U.S. energy independence, the timing for mechanical completion of Verenium's demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility, Verenium's building of a cellulosic ethanol plant in Florida in partnership with a large landowner or agricultural interest, Verenium's plans to expand its presence in Florida, and the biofuels and industrial opportunities for the Company's products, all of which are prospective. Such statements are only predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with Verenium's new and uncertain technologies, risks associated with Verenium's dependence on patents and proprietary rights, risks associated with Verenium's protection and enforcement of its patents and proprietary rights, technological, regulatory, competitive and other risks related to development, production, and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels and the commercial prospects of those industries, Verenium's dependence on existing collaborations, including with the University of Florida, and its ability to achieve milestones under existing and future collaboration agreements, the ability of Verenium and its partners to commercialize products (including by obtaining any required regulatory approvals) using Verenium's technologies and timing for launching any commercialized products, the ability of Verenium and its collaborators to market and sell any products that it or they commercialize, the development or availability of competitive products or technologies, the future ability of Verenium to enter into and/or maintain collaboration and joint venture agreements and licenses, changes in the U.S. or global energy markets and risks and other uncertainties more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Verenium Corporation:
John B. Howe
Vice President, Public Affairs
+1-617-674-5318
