Poplar producer to supply biorefinery

May 26, 2011, Portland, OR, & Lakewood,
CO – Biorefinery developer Zeachem has signed a long-term binding term sheet to
obtain hybrid poplar woody biomass for its first commercial cellulosic
biorefinery. Greenwood Tree Farm Fund (GTFF), managed by Greenwood Resources,
will supply the biomass. GTFF has existing poplar plantations in close
proximity to the biorefinery. Zeachem will integrate feedstock from a portion
of GTFF's residual fibre with local agricultural residue supplies for estimated
feedstock costs 50% lower than Brazilian sugarcane and 80% lower than
corn-based processes. The combination of forest and agricultural residuals will
provide 100% of the feedstock supply for Zeachem’s first commercial
biorefinery, which is expected to have a capacity of 25 million gallons/year
(95 million litres/year) and to be located in Boardman, Oregon.

Zeachem is currently constructing a
250,000-gallon/year (946,000 litre/year) demonstration-scale biorefinery in
Boardman, which is expected to come online in 2011. An existing GTFF hybrid
poplar tree plantation near Boardman supplies feedstock to the facility,
minimizing the transportation and logistics costs of cellulosic biofuel and
bio-based chemical production. Hybrid poplar trees are an excellent cellulosic
feedstock because of their high yield/acre, short rotation, and ability to
regenerate after harvest. Additional advantages of woody biomass include the
ability to aggregate forestry land and the forestry industry's common practice
of signing long-term contracts.