VIASPACE CEO to Discuss Giant King Grass as Renewable Energy Crop in Biofuels Presentations in China and Indonesia

Cites July 2009 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Cover Story on Grassoline as Next-Generation Biofuel

IRVINE, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — VIASPACE, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC), a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy, announced that Chief Executive Dr. Carl Kukkonen will make an invited presentation entitled, “Giant King Grass: An Energy Crop for Cellulosic Biofuels and Electric Power Plants” at the China Agricultural University and at the Biofuels and Jatropha Markets Asia conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 29-July 1, 2009.

VIASPACE is cultivating and marketing fast-growing Giant King Grass as a non-food feedstock for producing cellulosic low-carbon biofuels, also known as grassoline, and as a biomass replacement for coal as the heat source for electricity generating power plants.

According to Kukkonen, the cover story on grassoline in the July 2009 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN offers an excellent introduction to the use of fast-growing grasses to produce low carbon cellulosic grassoline as the second-generation biofuel for transportation. The authors point out that cellulosic biofuels are the most environmentally attractive and technologically feasible near-term alternative to oil and possess advantages, in contrast to first-generation biofuels from corn and other edible feedstock, which are consistent with becoming a long-term solution as well. Cellulosic feedstocks can be sustainably cultivated to produce enough biofuel to reduce the world’s oil comsumption by substantial amounts; for example, the U.S. can grow enough nonfood feedstock to replace about one half the country’s total consumption of oil without affecting food supplies.

“In addition to biofuels, another near-term use of biomass such as Giant King Grass is to simply burn it, instead of coal or oil, in an electricity generating power plant, ” Kukkonen added. “An existing coal fired power plant can replace up to 30% of its coal with biomass. Co-firing grass with coal can be accomplished by a straightforward modification of existing power plants, which does not require the large capital expense of building a new power plant. This is probably the simplest and cheapest way to reduce net carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. However, new 100% biomass-dedicated power plants are also being built, as there are long-term operating and environmental benefits for biomass power plants, compared to coal-burning plants.”

Kukkonen remarked: “The opportunities for grass as an energy crop are global and not focused only in the U.S. Economic growth and agricultural pressures are creating even greater demand for renewable energy from non-food sources in countries like China and India and in Southeast Asia. VIASPACE is currently growing Giant King Grass in southern China and pursuing opportunities in other regions and countries.”

A recent VIASPACE presentation on grassoline is available on the Company’s home page at www.VIASPACE.com. The new presentation will be posted on June 29, 2009.

About VIASPACE Inc.

VIASPACE is a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil and other high-pollutant energy sources. The Company provides raw material for cellulosic biofuels and develops and markets fuel cell cartridges, products and technology. VIASPACE subsidiary Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation owns a portfolio of fuel cell patents licensed from Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the direct methanol fuel cell was invented. VIASPACE subsidiary Ionfinity has operations in security-related systems and technology for military, defense and commercial applications. For more information, please see http://www.viaspace.com/ or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Information in this press release and interview includes forward-looking statements which relate to future events or future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as well as general economic and business conditions; changes in demand for the Company’s products; competition from larger companies; technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.

    Contact:
    Dr. Jan Vandersande
    Director of Communications
    800-517-8050
    IR@VIASPACE.com

SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.