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Verenium Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Speed Enzyme Development for Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 February 2008, 18:01 CST

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Verenium Corporation , a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, today announced that it has been awarded one of four grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under a $33.8 million program announced yesterday for the development of improved enzyme systems to be used in converting biomass into clean, renewable cellulosic ethanol. The grants will be appropriated over a four-year period beginning now through 2011.

Improved enzymes are the key to low-cost commercialization of next-generation ethanol, and only four companies in the nation received the DOE awards. The grant was announced by Andrew Karsner, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, during a speech yesterday to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) in Orlando, Florida.

Verenium plans to use the funding to further efforts for the "commercialization of customized cellulase solutions for biomass saccharification." The work will leverage Verenium's proprietary library of enzymes and DirectEvolution(TM) technology to develop and optimize more robust and cost-effective enzymes to breakdown biomass feedstocks into fermentable sugars for making ethanol.

The DOE will now work with the selected companies to determine final project plans and funding levels, subject to appropriations by Congress.

"This award validates the advanced enzyme research we've been doing through both our previous grant work with the DOE and over the last 10 years with our leading R&D team and is welcome news as we move toward completing mechanical construction of the nation's first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant," said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium. "Such government support helps accelerate the science behind commercially viable biofuels, and supports the growing cellulosic ethanol industry in addressing America's urgent need for alternative fuels."

About Cellulosic Ethanol

Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable fuel made from a wide variety of non- food materials, including agricultural wastes. By relying on a variety of biomass, cellulosic ethanol can be produced in nearly every region of the country, using material grown locally. Though it requires a more complex refining process, cellulosic ethanol contains more net energy and results in lower greenhouse emissions than traditional corn-based ethanol.

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 operates one of the nation's first cellulosic ethanol pilot plants, an R&D facility, 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 the first quarter of 2008. 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 Company's future growth, its expectations for its business and operations in 2008, anticipated product volume growth and improvement in product revenue, product gross profit and product gross margin, the timing for mechanical completion of its demonstration plant, future commercial cellulosic ethanol projects, 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 the 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 collaboration, manufacturing, and/or license agreements, 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 annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 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: Kelly Lindenboom Vice President, Corporate Communications 617-674-5335 kelly.lindenboom@verenium.com

Verenium Corporation

CONTACT: Kelly Lindenboom, Vice President, Corporate Communications ofVerenium Corporation, +1-617-674-5335, kelly.lindenboom@verenium.com

Web site: http://www.verenium.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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