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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, March 19, 2007 |
CONTACTS:
Cody Wertz – Salazar/ 303-350-0032
Evan Dreyer – Ritter/ 720-350-8370 Laura Condeluci – Allard/
202-224-5944 Aaron Johnson – Musgrave/ 202-225-4676 Leslie Oliver – Perlmutter/
303-810-6326
Brad Bohlander – CSU/
970-491-1545
George
Douglas – NREL/ 303-275-4096
Bronson Hilliard – CU at Marsha Williams – CSM/ 303-273-3326 |
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Colorado Business and Government Leaders Announce Creation of Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2) Today’s announcement comes less than one month after leaders from the four institutions signed the agreement creating the Collaboratory in a signing ceremony at the Colorado State Capitol. Colorado’s Governor Bill Ritter, United States Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard and Congressmen Mark Udall and Ed Perlmutter, as well as leaders from the four Collaboratory institutions, were all present at this historic kickoff. United States Senator Ken Salazar -- “C2B2 brings together public and private partners with the skills and the commitment to change the way we produce fuels for our cars and make the products that we use in our daily lives. Producing fuels, fabrics, plastics and more from biomass will increase national security, bring new prosperity to rural America and reduce our impact on global warming. It is a win, win, win.” United States Senator Wayne Allard -- “Colorado is in an excellent position to make a substantial contribution to our nation’s - and the world’s - renewable energy future,” said Allard. “We are strategically placed geographically as well as home to some of the finest universities and institutions in the world. The public-private partnership that is being formed will be one of the best and most important of its kind. I am pleased to represent the institutions of higher learning and the innovative businesses in Colorado.” Governor Bill Ritter -- “Here we are, just a few weeks after signing the Collaboratory memorandum of understanding, marking the very type of public-private partnership necessary for Colorado to become a national leader in renewable energy. I’m hopeful that C2B2 will become a significant part of advancing Colorado’s New Energy Economy.” Congressman Mark Udall (CO-2) -- “The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory is making quick strides with the announcement of the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels. This center will build on the work of Colorado’s universities and NREL’s National Bioenergy Center, and could make Colorado a greater magnet for the industry’s best and brightest in the biorefining and biofuels field. By training today’s and tomorrow’s premier scientists, this center will give Colorado a unique advantage as we move away from petroleum and toward biorefineries for the production of fuels, power, and chemicals.” Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4) -- “Promoting and supporting renewable energy is more important than ever. For too long our nation has relied on unstable parts of the world for its energy. For the security of the United States and the future stability of our economy, this can not continue. Home-grown, renewable energy has the potential to break this dangerous dependence and stimulate economic growth in our rural communities. C2B2 is critical to that effort, and I enthusiastically support their important work.” Congressman Ed Perlmutter (CO-7) -- "The formation of the C2B2 illustrates the real commitment Colorado and its premier business, educational and research institutions are making in moving our nation toward energy independence. I'm delighted that the Collaboratory partners are working with the C2B2 to bring new energy technologies to the private sector. These new energy technologies will impact all facets of our lives. From how we move about, to the clothes we wear, biorefining will strengthen our national security, help create jobs and save our environment." National Renewable Energy Laboratory Associate Director, Stan Bull -- “Projects such as C2B2 further Midwest Research Institute’s mission to enable NREL to develop new renewable energy technologies and move those technologies along the path to commercialization,” said MRI Vice President and NREL Associate Director Stan Bull. “This collaboration is extremely important for workforce development, too. Students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty from the universities will work closely with national laboratory scientists and engineers and industry professionals, developing the skills needed to help the nation develop clean, secure sources of energy.” Midwest Research Institute has managed NREL since its inception in 1977. Colorado School of Mines President, M. W. “Bill” Scoggins -- “Considering the complexity and urgency of the world’s energy challenges, I believe collaborations among universities, national laboratories and energy companies are an absolute necessity. C2B2 is a great example of a cooperative effort that can lead to substantive and timely progress in finding solutions to these challenges. Colorado School of Mines is proud to be a partner in this critical consortium, developing new technologies for the commercialization of biofuels and biorefining processes.” University of Colorado at Boulder, Chancellor, G.P. “Bud” Peterson -- “Finding new ways to provide energy to our nation and beyond is one of the major challenges of our time and a primary focus of research at the University of Colorado. That’s why we created the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Initiative in 2005 and why we are now expanding on our commitment to finding new fuel sources by partnering with other campuses on the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels.” Colorado State University Vice President for Research, Bill Farland -- “Colorado State University is committed to developing and disseminating environmentally responsible solutions to meet U.S. energy needs while reducing our impact on the planet and dependence on oil,” said Bill Farland, vice president for Research at Colorado State. “Whether it’s crop engineering or researching mass production of algae to oil, Colorado State brings unique strengths and resources to its partners in the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels.” Chevron Vice President of Biofuels and Hydrogen, Rick Zalesky -- “Bringing biofuels to large-scale commercial production is a challenge too big for any one company, industry or institution to tackle. Achieving it will require a collaborative effort among energy companies, agribusiness, universities, research institutions, and governments. We’re very pleased that C2B2 is fostering this kind of collaboration with well-qualified participants.” ConocoPhillips Senior Vice President of Technology, Ryan Lance -- “ConocoPhillips is pleased to support the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, an organization devoted to advancing technology for the commercialization of renewable fuels,” said Ryan Lance, senior vice president of Technology for ConocoPhillips. “We believe that America’s energy security is enhanced by the efficient and effective use of a variety of energy sources, and we welcome the opportunity to work with major universities and a national laboratory to advance the use of renewable fuels.” Dow Chemical Research and Development Vice President, Charlie Kresge -- “As the largest chemical manufacturer in the United States, Dow is a major consumer of energy feedstocks and we are subjected to the volatilities of natural gas and energy volume and pricing,” said Charlie Kresge, research and development vice president for Basic Plastics & Chemicals/Hydrocarbons & Energy/Licensing. “This project supports our strategic goal of feedstock diversification through exploration of promising bio-sources. We are pleased to be collaborators in this creative environment.” Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. President, Paul Hamilton, -- “Shell believes that US energy security will come through diversity of energy and that technology is essential to answering that challenge. We know from experience that good ideas often bear fruit through collaboration with organizations, like C2B2, whose strengths differ from our own. In turn, our partners benefit from our technology and our ability to apply it on a large scale. Shell has been at the forefront of innovation for over 100 years and we are proud to be a part of this endeavor.” Cary Bullock, CEO of GreenFuel Technologies Corporation -- “GreenFuel Technologies applauds the leadership efforts of Senator Salazar and the Colorado state government. We believe that C2B2 can channel the prowess and passion of the best minds in biofuel technology into a collaborative effort that will accelerate us on our path to energy security, a healthier environment, and a stronger economy.” Dr. Arie Geertsema, Senior Vice President of Technology for Range Fuels, Inc. -- “Range Fuels, Inc is pleased to participate in the C2B2 initiative, providing a forum for pre-competitive research and technology development for biomass conversion. We are convinced that this will grow significantly; having commercial impact in near future and the environmental benefits from such development will stand us all in good stead.” Doug Henston, CEO, Solix Biofuels -- “The development of new technologies to tackle the most important energy problems of our time requires true collaboration among industry, the academic community and government. Solix is extremely pleased to be participating with the Center for Biofuels and Biorefining and all its members to direct its technical expertise towards making a positive impact on energy security and economic development.” Ed Lehrburger, President and CEO, PureVision Technology, Inc.--“PureVision has developed a unique fractionation technology that rapidly converts cellulosic biomass into industrial raw materials used for making a myriad of products such as ethanol and other products. Over the past several years, we have worked closely with NREL, the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, and now look forward to working with the new partners and expanded capabilities of C2B2 to bring cellulosic biorefining to commercialization.” Dr. Chris Perkins, President of Copernican Energy -- “C2B2 provides a platform for industry, universities, and national laboratories to join forces to solve problems critical to all of the world’s people. Copernican Energy, Inc. is excited to participate in this collaboration that can foster the technology breakthroughs that will bring clean and sustainable energy to the world market. We look forward to developing partnerships with other members of C2B2 utilizing solar-thermal based processes for converting biomass to chemicals and fuels.” Aaron Perry, CEO & CFO, Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises, LLC (RMSE) and Colorado bioXchange -- “As a Colorado company establishing an integrated network of biofuels processing facilities, RMSE is delighted to participate in the C2B2 project. This partnership will bolster our efforts to develop renewable energy, waste-to-energy, and related resource efficiency processes at our Colorado bioXchange® facilities. The C2B2 public-private collaboration promises to provide an effective means for advancing technologies that will benefit our economy, our security, and our environment here in Colorado.” Jeff Probst, President & CEO of Blue Sun Biodiesel -- “Blue Sun is excited to be a founding member of C2B2 and to continue our leadership in technology innovation for high-quality, superior performance biofuels that the market demands. As a Colorado-based biofuels company, Blue Sun believes that C2B2 is important to our ongoing collaboration with universities, research institutions, and governments to reduce carbon emissions and to decrease our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.” C2B2 will work to create new technologies for the production of transportation fuels and other valuable products from plants. In addition to transportation fuels, biorefining promises to create new sources of agricultural fertilizers, synthetic fibers for clothing and other uses, plastics and commercial chemicals. Because these materials are now derived from petroleum and natural gas, biorefining will reduce our dependence on oil and gas, will provide alternative, domestic sources of energy and commercial products, and will reduce green house gas emissions, helping to reduce global warming. Companies participate in C2B2 as a sponsor by paying a membership fee. These fees will fund shared research, and sponsors will have the opportunity to participate in the discoveries and patents generated by the shared research, with the goal of commercializing the new technologies as soon as possible. Sponsors may also enter into individual agreements to fund proprietary research through C2B2. The research projects of C2B2 will also create educational opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, serving to train the next generation of chemical and biological engineers for our universities and private enterprise. # # # |
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