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Joint effort to focus on conversion of non-food crops into renewable

transportation fuels

    SAN RAMON, Calif., May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chevron Corporation
 (NYSE:   CVX) and the Texas A&M Agriculture and Engineering BioEnergy
 Alliance (Texas A&M BioEnergy Alliance) announced today that they have
 entered into a strategic research agreement to accelerate the production
 and conversion of crops for manufacturing ethanol and other biofuels from
 cellulose.
     Chevron Technology Ventures, a division of Chevron USA, Inc., will
 support research initiatives over a four-year period through the Texas A&M
 BioEnergy Alliance, a formal partnership combining the collective strengths
 of The Texas A&M University System's two premier research agencies in
 agriculture and engineering -- the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
 (TAES) and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES).
     The research initiatives will focus on several technology advancements
 to produce biofuels including, but not limited to:
     -- identifying, assessing, cultivating, and optimizing production of
        second-generation energy feedstocks for cellulose and bio-oils with a
        focus on non-food crops,
 
     -- characterizing and optimizing the design of dedicated bioenergy crops
        through advances in genomic sciences and plant breeding,
 
     -- developing integrated logistics systems associated with the harvest,
        transport, storage and conversion of bioenergy crops, and
 
     -- developing advanced biofuels processing technologies.
     "Chevron believes that biofuels will fill an important role in
 diversifying the nation's energy sources by providing a source of
 low-carbon transportation fuel," said Don Paul, vice president and chief
 technology officer, Chevron Corporation. "Bringing biofuels to large-scale
 commercial production is an enormous challenge that requires the combined
 efforts of industry, universities and research institutions, and
 governments. It is through partnerships like this that biofuels will be a
 viable part of meeting the energy challenges of tomorrow."
     "The Texas A&M BioEnergy Alliance has a broad, holistic vision focused
 on developing practical, near-term solutions to bioenergy related problems,
 in addition to performing the necessary long-term fundamental research,"
 said Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M
 Engineering. "Forming an alliance with Chevron fits well with our research
 initiatives and allows us to leverage our strengths in biomass and biofuels
 to transfer new technologies from lab to the public, providing real
 solutions that are economical, sustainable and environmentally friendly."
     For instance, Texas A&M BioEnergy Alliance partners in agriculture have
 developed exceptional high-yield cellulosic energy crops that can produce
 significantly more biomass per acre than most alternatives.
     "The development of biofuels from agricultural feedstocks requires a
 regional approach and research into many alternatives for the long-term
 energy needs of our country," said Dr. Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and
 dean of Texas A&M Agriculture and Life Sciences. "We have been able to
 capitalize on decades of existing research into sorghum, sugarcane, forage
 and oil-based cropping systems, which should provide us with premier,
 dedicated feedstocks for biofuels and renewable energy that are sustainable
 within existing agricultural production systems."
     "Cellulosic ethanol, as opposed to sugar- or starch-based ethanol,
 broadens the choice of feedstock without impacting food supplies," said
 Rick Zalesky, vice president of Biofuels and Hydrogen, Chevron Technology
 Ventures. "Making it commercially viable poses a number of scientific and
 technical challenges -- challenges which we believe the faculty, staff and
 students at one of the world's premier universities in agricultural
 sciences and engineering are well-equipped to overcome."
     Cellulose is an energy-rich carbohydrate that is the main structural
 component of green plants, found in the stems, stalks and leaves. One of
 the primary technical and scientific challenges of making biofuels from
 cellulose involves designing a low cost method for releasing sugar from
 cellulose that is bound in the plant cell wall for fermentation into
 ethanol or other biofuels.
     Chevron formed a biofuels business unit in May 2006 to advance
 technology and pursue commercial opportunities related to the production
 and distribution of ethanol and biodiesel in the United States. Its
 research and development (R&D) activities in biofuels are currently
 structured around a research initiative with Weyerhaeuser Company, one of
 the world's largest integrated forest products companies; a major alliance
 with U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
 (NREL); and a portfolio of four significant, regionally focused university
 programs. In addition to the Texas A&M agreement announced today, Chevron's
 biofuels business unit has formed research arrangements with the Georgia
 Institute of Technology, the University of California -- Davis and the
 Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, which is a consortium of
 NREL, three major Colorado universities and other private companies.
 Chevron maintains a substantial internal proprietary capability directed to
 applying R&D and commercializing external research success.
     Chevron is investing across the energy spectrum to develop energy
 sources for future generations by expanding the capabilities of today's
 alternative and renewable energy technologies. Between 2002 and 2006,
 Chevron spent roughly $2 billion on renewables and alternative energy and
 energy efficiency initiatives. Between 2007 and 2009, Chevron expects to
 spend more than $2.5 billion.
     About Chevron Technology Ventures
     Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), a division of Chevron, USA, Inc.,
 champions innovation, commercialization and integration of emerging
 technologies and related new business models within Chevron. CTV is
 pursuing this goal through business units involving biofuels, hydrogen,
 emerging energy and venture capital.
     Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading energy companies.
 With approximately 56,000 employees, Chevron subsidiaries conduct business
 in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting
 crude oil and natural gas, and refining, marketing and distributing fuels
 and other energy products. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More
 information on Chevron is available at http://www.chevron.com.
     About the Texas A&M Agriculture and Engineering BioEnergy Alliance
     The Texas A&M University System is among the largest systems of higher
 education in the nation. Through a statewide network of nine universities,
 seven state agencies, which include Texas A&M BioEnergy Alliance partners
 TAES and TEES, and a comprehensive health science center, the A&M System is
 uniquely configured to optimize the integrated development and design of
 cellulosic and oil-based feedstocks with emerging technologies and
 sustainable supplies of biomass to address biofuels and renewable energy.
     The Texas A&M BioEnergy Alliance is integrating and focusing its broad-
 based resources to become a world leader in bioenergy. Over the past two
 decades, faculty and staff researchers have worked on multiple feedstocks,
 biofuels and bioenergy projects. The Texas A&M Bioenergy Alliance is
 advancing this research toward demonstration projects and eventual
 commercialization, while accelerating the next generation bioenergy.
 
 

SOURCE Chevron Technology Ventures