CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Verenium Corporation
(Nasdaq: VRNM), a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic
ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, today applauded the
Environmental Protection Agency for its decision to uphold the enhanced
Renewable Fuel Standard enacted into law in December 2007. In its decision,
EPA rejected a petition to waive 50% of the requirement to purchase and blend
corn ethanol for the period spanning September 2008 through August 2009.
"EPA has made a carefully reasoned and thoroughly supported decision to
maintain the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in place," said Carlos A. Riva,
Verenium's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The RFS is critical to our
nation's strategy of reducing dependence on imported oil, and accelerating the
transition to advanced biofuels. The EPA's reaffirmation of this standard
sends a strong signal to the investment community: our government is serious
about adhering to its commitment to enhance our nation's energy security."
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 strengthened the RFS by
increasing the mandated amount of renewable fuels used annually in the United
States to 36 billion gallons by 2022, of which at least 16 billion must be
cellulosic ethanol, which is derived from non-food feedstocks such as
agricultural residues, canes, wood and grasses. This federal commitment to
advanced biofuels provides a stable and predictable market framework for
companies like Verenium, which just began start-up and commissioning one of
the nation's first demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities.
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. 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 operations, capabilities,
commercialization activities, target markets and cellulosic ethanol
facilities, 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 the costs, labor requirements and labor availability associated with
Verenium's demonstration plant, risks associated with Verenium's ability to
obtain additional capital to support its planned operations, 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 laws
and regulations applicable to them, 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 three months ended March 31, 2008. 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.
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