You might not have heard of Cullulosic Ethanol, or Verenium Corporation, but BP Is betting $90 million that you’ll soon see benefits from both.
The energy giant has formed a strategic partnership with research specialist Verenium (whose wordy press release follows below.) Together, the firms will start a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) a pseudo-company equally owned by both firms. This SPE will serve as the licensing entity to develop intellectual property. Put simply, any discoveries and products created by the SPE will be co-owned by BP and Verenium.
“We are very excited and proud to be partnering with BP, a world leader in both the traditional and alternative energy industries that shares our commitment and vision to rapidly evolve next-generation ethanol into a commercial-scale solution for our energy needs,” said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium, whose share price jumped by 54%.
BP is investing $90m over an 18 month horizon, and the investment is broken up as-
– $45 million, payable in three installments over the next twelve months, for broad access to Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol technology platform, production facilities, and employee scientific knowledge and expertise. At closing, Verenium will receive the first $24.5M of this amount.
– $2.5 million per month to co-fund Verenium’s various scientific and technical initiatives within the cellulosic ethanol field. The Companies’ joint efforts in the field will be directed by a Joint Development Agreement.
This is good news for renewable energy since Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable fuel source produced from biomass-derived products such as sugarcane waste (bagasse), switchgrass, rice straw and wood chips. This means food stocks will not be affected by its development, good news for all involved.
Verenium
Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of next-generation cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as high-performance specialty enzymes for applications within the alternative fuels, specialty industrial processes, and animal nutrition and health 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 cellulosic feedstocks, including dedicated energy crops, sugarcane bagasse, agricultural waste, and wood products. In addition to the vast potential for biofuels, a multitude of large-scale industrial opportunities exist for the Company relating to 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, visit http://www.verenium.com.
