Verenium and VPP sign agreement to test C5 cellulosic technology on pulping feedstocks

CAMBRIDGE, MA , Oct. 21, 2009 (PRNewswire-FirstCall) -

Verenium Corporation, a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Value Prior to Pulping (VPP), an organization created by the Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance, a special project of the American Forest and Paper Association, and CleanTech Partners, Inc., to test the effectiveness of Verenium's C5 technology for the creation of cellulosic ethanol from the hemicelluloses generated by the pulp and paper process, creating higher value products without negatively impacting paper quality. VPP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the State of Wisconsin and several large forest products companies.

"We are pleased to be partnering with VPP and enthusiastic for the opportunity to explore the potential of our C5 technology to create biofuels from feedstocks sourced from the pulping process," said Gregory Powers, Executive Vice President of Research and Development of Verenium. "Integrating ethanol production into the pulping process could create an attractive market opportunity for Verenium and the pulping industry. If this project proves successful, Verenium will be well positioned to enable this new source of low-cost biofuels."

It is estimated that a typical 1500 ton-per-day kraft mill could produce approximately 15 million gallons of ethanol annually. The total potential market opportunity is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2 billion gallons of ethanol per year.

"We believe these types of opportunities to 'bolt' our technology onto existing industrial processes, where the feedstock sourcing, handling and processing are already well-established, and are complementary to our core biofuels strategy," said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verenium.