VIASPACE Hires Chief Business Officer

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC - News), a clean energy company growing Giant King™ Grass as a low-carbon, dedicated bioenergy crop and its subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VGREF), today announced that Dr. Munzer Sundos has joined as Chief Business Officer. This position was filled after a global search and an extensive interview process. Dr. Sundos reports to CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen.

Dr. Sundos is a seasoned executive in advanced bio-based fuels, chemicals and feed. He will provide leadership driving VIASPACE's global expansion and strategic partnerships; lead VIASPACE Giant King Grass commercialization; and bring the VIASPACE technology and product platform to the growing global markets for renewable bio-based chemicals and fuels. He has experience in using oil crops such as a sunflower for bio-lubricants, soybeans for fine chemicals, and Jatropha for bio crude oil.  His business experience includes Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe in addition to the United States.

VIASPACE Chief Executive Dr. Carl Kukkonen stated, "We are very pleased to have Dr. Sundos on board. He has extensive global experience in business, as well as a solid agricultural background. He will immediately become involved on existing projects, and also will develop plans for new Giant King Grass projects around the world."

Dr. Sundos is veteran renewable energy and value chemical industry executive with a proven track record of enhancing revenue growth and stakeholder value. He has led or had a key role in generating multi-million deals and developing and executing numerous corporate partnerships and strategic alliances all over the world. He brings extensive business, management and leadership experience with in depth knowledge of renewable fuel, chemical and the biomass industry in developing and managing sustainable projects and renewable energy operations across the energy value chain. 

Most recently, Dr. Sundos served as senior vice president, strategic partnerships for PetroAlgae where he led the efforts to establish a value proposition instrumental in penetrating biofuel, feed and high value chemical markets with important clients and customers. Prior to joining PetroAlgae, he was vice president and general manager at Cognis, a division of Henkel KGaA, acquired by BASF the Chemical Company, where he successfully led its commercial expansion and grew revenue from $110 million in revenue to more than $360 million. Prior to his appointment at Cognis, Dr. Sundos held senior positions with Mycogen, a specialty ag-biotechnology company acquired by Dow Chemicals, where he initiated and executed a global plan that leveraged technology and product platforms, opened new markets, and forged strategic alliances and profitable partnerships; he helped build the company from startup to $1.1B. 

Dr. Sundos holds an International Master's in Management (IMM) from the Krannet School of Management at Purdue University, a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the AUB, and a PhD in energy crops production from North Dakota State University.

Dr. Sundos can be contacted at [email protected].

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 high-pollutant energy sources. Through its majority-owned subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc., the Company grows Giant King Grass as a low-carbon fuel for electricity generating power plants, as a feedstock for bio methane production and cellulosic biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, and for biochemicals and bioplastics.  For more information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or www.VIASPACEGreenEnergy.com or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or [email protected].

Safe Harbor Statement

Information in this news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements 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 any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as well as general economic and business conditions; the ability to acquire and develop specific products and technologies; changes in consumer and business demand for the Company's products; competition from larger companies; changes in demand for alternative and clean energy; risks associated with international transactions; risks related to technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.

SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.