Technology Being Utilized in the First Commercial Plant To Produce

Cellulosic Ethanol From Wood Construction Waste

Verenium Expands Presence in Florida with Tampa Office

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Verenium
 Corporation (Nasdaq:   VRNM), a leading developer of biofuels derived from
 low-cost, abundant biomass and a developer of specialty enzyme products,
 today presented the University of Florida a $66,000 royalty check for its
 patented cellulosic ethanol technology.
     The ceremonial presentation was made at the Florida Department of
 Agriculture and Consumer Services' 2007 Farm-to-Fuel Summit -- an event
 aimed at helping Florida farmers and ranchers produce biofuel crops to help
 reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
     The royalty payment is from the first commercial production of biomass
 ethanol produced using patented technology developed by Dr. Lonnie Ingram,
 a Distinguished Professor in UF's Department of Microbiology and Cell
 Science, and Director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and
 Fuels, and licensed to Verenium. BioEthanol Japan -- a joint venture of
 Marubeni Corp. and Tsukishima Kikai Co., LTD -- is using the technology
 under license from Verenium in their 1.4 million liter-per-year cellulosic
 ethanol plant in Osaka, Japan. It is the world's first commercial plant to
 produce cellulosic ethanol from wood construction waste.
     Cellulosic ethanol is an environmentally friendly and renewable
 transportation fuel produced from a wide array of feedstocks, including
 sugarcane bagasse, dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, and wood
 products.
     "This initial royalty payment represents a true milestone in our long
 and productive partnership with the University of Florida," said Carlos A.
 Riva, Verenium's President and Chief Executive Officer. "It demonstrates
 the very real commercial potential for this technology and the fact that
 technology transfer is alive and well in Florida. Moreover, this check is
 tangible proof that the commercial success of Verenium's technology will
 benefit the University and its stakeholders."
     Timothy R. Eves, Verenium's Florida Vice President of Business
 Development, presented the royalty check to Florida Agriculture
 Commissioner Charles Bronson and Jimmy Cheek, the University of Florida's
 senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
     "It is exciting to see what was once just a vision come to fruition,"
 Bronson said. "I am confident this is only the beginning of Florida's front
 and center role in the development of environmentally friendly alternative
 fuels."
     Added Cheek: "I am pleased to accept this check for the University of
 Florida. It is a symbol of our successful research that is contributing to
 making alternate fuels available. This technology can convert crops, trees,
 and yard and agricultural waste to fuel. Imagine converting kudzu to fuel.
 Professor Ingram did. The impact is global."
     "Dr. Ingram is a pioneer in the development of environmentally
 sustainable ethanol technologies," said Win Phillips, UF's Vice President
 for Research. "The University is pleased to be partnering with Verenium to
 move this important technology out of the laboratory and into commercial
 use, where it can help reduce greenhouse gases and make the U.S. more
 energy independent."
     Verenium operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in
 Jennings, Louisiana, that is a centerpiece of the company's ongoing
 research and development efforts. In February 2007, Verenium also broke
 ground on the first demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in the
 United States. The company expects to achieve mechanical completion of this
 project, located adjacent to the Jennings pilot facility and rated for 1.4
 million gallons per year, by the end of 2007.
     In Florida, where Verenium operates a research laboratory at the
 University of Florida's Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Incubator in
 Alachua, the company is looking to build its own cellulosic ethanol plant
 in partnership with a large landowner or agricultural interest.
     "The Florida climate is ideal for growing the feedstocks needed to
 produce cellulosic ethanol," said Eves, an energy industry veteran who
 joined Verenium in June. "We've opened an office in Tampa, and we're
 committed to the further expansion of our presence in the state."
     About the University of Florida
     The University of Florida is one of the nation's leading research
 institutions, receiving more than $518 million in funding annually to
 conduct research in agriculture, health sciences, engineering and many
 other fields. UF's Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) manages almost 300
 disclosures per year generated from the cutting-edge research that takes
 place throughout the institution. OTL has partnered with companies
 throughout Florida, the Southeast and nationally to assist in the movement
 of technologies to the marketplace and welcomes the opportunity to work
 with companies interested in such a partnership. For more information,
 visit the website at http://www.otl.ufl.edu or email jmuir@ufl.edu.
     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 recently completed a significant upgrade of one of the
 nation's first operational cellulosic ethanol pilot facilities located 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 2007. 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 commercial potential for, and the
 commercial success of, the cellulosic ethanol technology licensed by
 Verenium from the University of Florida, cellulosic ethanol's environmental
 benefits and contribution to U.S. energy independence, the timing for
 mechanical completion of Verenium's demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol
 facility, Verenium's building of a cellulosic ethanol plant in Florida in
 partnership with a large landowner or agricultural interest, Verenium's
 plans to expand its presence in Florida, and the biofuels and industrial
 opportunities for the Company's products, 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 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
 collaborations, including with the University of Florida, 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 quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
 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:
 
     Verenium Corporation:
     John B. Howe
     Vice President, Public Affairs
     +1-617-674-5318
     john.howe@verenium.com
 
     Media Inquiries:
     John Finotti
     Access Public Relations
     +1-904-891-3867
     jfinotti@bellsouth.net
 
     Investor Inquiries:
     Evan Smith, CFA
     Financial Dynamics Business Communications
     +1-212-850-5606
 
 

SOURCE Verenium Corporation

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