New cellulosic biofuel technology advances

Jan. 6, 2010, Grand Forks, ND, & Bellingham, WA – The University of North
Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) Foundation and Whole
Energy Fuels Corporation, headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, are getting
closer to commercializing a novel cellulosic biofuel technology developed at
the EERC. Whole Energy is receiving global, exclusive licensing rights to EERC
Foundation's technology. The technology produces liquid biofuels from
cellulosic materials such as wood, grasses, wheat straw, soybean hulls, and
corncobs.

Atul
Deshmane, CEO and president of Whole Energy, says, "Partnering with the
EERC and obtaining a technology license from the EERC Foundation will
jump-start Mercurius Biofuels, a new company formed with our help to develop
and commercialize advanced biofuel technologies. Mercurius is developing the
technology with the intent of building and operating a pilot plant to
demonstrate what may be the most energy- and carbon-efficient process for
making a cellulosic fuel."

"The
EERC Foundation's biorefinery technology is superior to other technologies
because it does not depend on enzymes, fermentation, or extreme operating
conditions," says Karl Seck, president of Mercurius Biofuels. "This
technology is more in line with the petroleum refining model and will benefit
from many of the same efficiencies."