Beta Renewables wins ACHEMA Innovation award

June 21, 2012, Rivalta Scrivia, Italy – Beta Renewables has announced
that it has won the ACHEMA 2012 Innovation Award in the category of
Biotechnology for its PROESA technology. The award, presented by PROCESS, honors the most innovative technologies at ACHEMA, a major conference for the chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology industries.  Over 100 companies applied for awards in ten categories.  Winners were picked according to innovation, usability, quality, efficiency and economy.

PROESA is a second-generation cellulosic biomass technology.  It takes inedible biomass, like energy crops or agricultural waste, and turns them into high-quality, low-cost fermentable sugars.  These can then be used to cost-competitively produce bio-based fuels and chemicals with lower environmental impact than products made from oil or natural gas.   PROESA is the technology that will be used at the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy, expected to start operations by the end of 2012, and in a series of plants to be built by GraalBio in Brazil.

“We’re honored to receive the ACHEMA Innovation Award for PROESA,” said Guido Ghisolfi, CEO of Beta Renewables.  “This is additional recognition of PROESA’s potential for high impact in advanced biofuels and bioproducts around the world.”

About Beta Renewables

Beta Renewables is the leader in making non-food cellulosic biomass practical and cost-competitive for the production of advanced biofuels and biochemicals.  Beta Renewables is a unique $350 million (€250M) joint venture formed from the Chemtex division of Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi and TPG.  The company benefits from over 60 years of success in process development and commercializing hundreds of plants worldwide. Beta Renewables has invested over $200 million (€140M) in the development of the PROESA process. The company is currently building the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Crescentino, Italy, expected to start operations by the end of 2012.