News
Virdia unveils new facility in Virginia

Apr. 25, 2012, Redwood City, CA – Virdia,
a leading developer of cellulosic sugars, has announced the opening of
its demonstration facility at its new technology center in Danville,
Virginia. Located on the campus for the Institute for Advanced Learning
and Research (IALR), the facility is designed to demonstrate Virdia's
CASE process in pilot scale, as well as produce commercially
representative samples of cellulosic sugars and lignin for commercial
applications.

"Siting our technology center and our demonstration facility in Virginia
is the next key step towards commercial production for us," said
Philippe Lavielle, CEO of Virdia. "Virdia's products are
cost-competitive, and are setting new standards for industrial uses of
cellulosic sugars and lignin. The technology is being established in
pilot scale, and we now look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate
it on an even larger scale. Looking ahead, our next step will be to site
a commercial facility near sustainable sources of biomass."

Founded in 2007, Virdia has developed a proprietary CASE process,
which converts cellulosic biomass to high quality fermentable sugars and
lignin, and is based on a series of patented and patent-pending
technologies. Applications for the sugars range from renewable fuels and
fuel intermediates, renewable chemicals and materials, and nutritional
additives for the animal feed industry. The high quality lignin in dry
or soluble forms has proven to be a valuable feedstock for plant-based
plastics and other thermo-chemical transformations. Virdia's sugars are
already being tested for use in several industries — most recently by
Virent as a feedstock for high-performance drop-in jet fuels.

"Virdia is making huge strides in the emerging bioeconomy, and I am
pleased the company has decided to site its new technology center in
Virginia," said Bob McDonnell, Governor of Virginia. "The development of
sustainable and clean sources of energy is a necessary component of our
all the above energy strategy, and Virginia is proud to welcome Virdia
to the state in pursuance of cleaner energy, scientific innovation and
economic stimulus."

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research was started in 2002 by
the State of Virginia to bring technological growth to the area and
revitalize the southern Virginia economy. The Sustainable Energy and
Technology Center (SENTEC), where the Virdia facility is located, is a
research and development center on the Institute campus that includes
25,000 square feet of research laboratories, spaces and offices. It was
originally founded to develop enhanced bio-based fuels and materials.

"Virdia is entirely in line with our vision for IALR and innovation on
our campus, as their CASE process and subsequent products have the
potential to serve a vast array of applications, from food to energy and
beyond," said Dr. Liam Leightley, executive director of IALR. "Virdia's
focus on renewing tomorrow with use of its high quality cellulosic
sugars will surely be pivotal in the success of the bioeconomy and, in
turn, in meeting great societal needs."

A public ribbon-cutting event and tours will be held on April 25, 2012,
attended by key stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels.

About Virdia

Virdia is a leading developer of cellulosic sugars and lignin for use in
the renewable chemicals, bio-energy and nutrition industries. The
company's CASE proprietary process converts a wide range of cellulosic
feedstock, including plantation/industrial wood, energy crops and
agricultural residues into highly refined sugars and lignin. This
low-temperature process delivers the highest yields of sugars from
biomass, and has a very light environmental footprint due to the near
complete recycling of acids and solvents used in manufacturing. The
company is led by a seasoned management team with decades of experience
in corn processing, chemical and biochemical industries. For more
information, please visit
www.virdia.com.