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Posted on  

April 30, 2003

Genencor Exceeds Research Goal in Effort to Convert Biomass to Ethanol

Genencor International, Inc., (NASDAQ: GCOR) today announced that it has met and exceeded the project goal well ahead of schedule on its three-year program to develop an economically viable enzymatic process for converting biomass to ethanol. Specifically, as part of its $17 million contract with the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Genencor applied its integrated technology platforms to deliver enzyme systems enabling a 10-fold improvement in the economics of using enzymes to break down biomass (cellulosic material found in plant residue) and complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. These sugars are the raw materials necessary for future biorefineries to produce ethanol, organic chemicals and other bioproducts like plastics. Genencor has demonstrated that it exceeded the 10-fold goal for the program.

Successfully meeting the goal will enable the development of sustainable biorefineries to take their place alongside traditional oil refineries and open new, untapped markets for industrial biotechnology.

"The advancement of a cost-effective approach to utilize biomass to produce ethanol and other products is expected to create significant business opportunities. We are discussing the prospect of developing commercial biorefineries with a number of potential partners," said Thomas J. Pekich, group vice president, Bioproducts, for Genencor.

"We are pleased to report that the improvements we have documented to date, both in production economics and in enzyme performance, comfortably exceed the aggressive subcontract goal of a 10-fold reduction in the cost of cellulases for biomass conversion. To achieve these goals, we employed all of our capabilities in protein and pathway engineering, expression capability, and process know how. We fully expect that we will have continued progress over the remaining months of the contract that will lead to additional improvements." said Michael V. Arbige, senior vice president of technology for Genencor.

About NREL
NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory managed by Midwest Research Institute, Battelle and Bechtel. In addition to its work in plant- and waste-derived fuels and chemicals, the lab is a leading center for research into solar energy, wind energy, energy efficient buildings, advanced vehicle design, geothermal energy and hydrogen fuel cells.

About Genencor
Genencor International is a diversified biotechnology company that develops and delivers innovative products and services into the health care, agri-processing, industrial and consumer markets. Using an integrated set of technology platforms, Genencor's products deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to many of the problems of everyday life. Genencor traces its history to 1982 and has grown to become a leading biotechnology company, with over $350 million in year 2002 annual revenues. Genencor has principal offices in Palo Alto, California; Rochester, New York; and Leiden, the Netherlands.

Source: www.genencor.com