Cobalt creates biobutanol from beetle-killed wood

Apr. 12, 2010, Mountain View, CA – Cobalt Technologies has achieved a
breakthrough in producing biobutanol from beetle-killed lodgepole pine. The
biobutanol can be used as a drop-in replacement for petroleum and
petrochemicals. To evaluate the fuel's viability for commercial vehicles, the
company has signed a fuel testing partnership with Colorado State University,
USA.

"With
this breakthrough, we've been able to turn a problem into an opportunity,"
says Dr. Rick Wilson, chief executive officer of Cobalt Technologies.
"Harvesting beetle-killed trees could produce low-carbon fuels and
chemicals, establish a foundation for a sustainable biorefinery industry, and
create jobs, particularly in rural areas. If we use only half of the 2.3
million acres currently affected in Colorado alone, we could produce over two
billion gallons of biobutanol—enough to blend into all the gasoline used in
Colorado for six years."

Cobalt
Technologies converts biomass such as forest waste and mill residues into
n-butanol, a versatile product that can be used as a drop-in biofuel to be
blended with gasoline, diesel and ethanol; converted into jet fuel or plastics;
or sold as-is for use in paints, cleaners, adhesives, and flavourings.

Cobalt
has partnered with Colorado State University to perform engine testing with a
gasoline-butanol blend made with the biobutanol from beetle-killed wood. The
fuel testing will be performed at Colorado State University's Engines and
Energy Conversion Laboratory under the auspices of the University's Sustainable
Bioenergy Development Center.