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Virent Energy Systems, Inc.

About Us
Virent was founded in 2002 to commercialize the aqueous phase reforming (APR) process, an innovative technology which generates hydrogen from sugar, as originally published in the journal Nature in 2002.  Researchers at Virent have since further advanced the technology into the BioForming® process, which combines APR with other technologies to produce renewable liquid fuels, fuel gases, and other chemicals.

In early 2006, Virent made ground-breaking discoveries by expanding the BioForming technology to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules like those produced at petroleum refineries.  These high-energy hydrocarbon mixtures can then be used directly or blended seamlessly to make conventional liquid fuels.  Gasoline was the first liquid fuel Virent produced using this technology, followed shortly thereafter by diesel and jet fuel.

Since this discovery, the BioForming process has advanced rapidly, exceeding milestones for yield, product composition, and cost.  These developments have fueled Virent's dramatic growth in number of highly skilled employees and pilot plants housed in a state of the art catalytic biorefining facility.  Virent has received significant commercial interest and counts Cargill and Honda among its leading investors.  The company has entered into key strategic industrial collaborations, including with Royal Dutch Shell for the development and commercialization of biogasoline.  This collaboration will accelerate the technology's time to market and enable broad commercial penetration.  

Virent has raised over $30M in equity financing with its latest round in the fall of 2007.  The company has also attracted $11M in federal funding including a second Advanced Technology Program grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in September of 2007.  This grant is to develop effective and economical methods to break down non-food cellulosic biomass into sugars and other chemical intermediates for further processing into biofuels.  

Virent's growing partnerships with major energy, automotive, and agricultural companies, in addition to expanding global interests, continue to validate this game-changing technology.

Technology
Virent's BioForming® process pioneers the commercial production of biofuels and bioproducts which are both sustainable and economical.  This technology can convert a wide roster of feedstocks, including non-food and home grown energy sources, into the variety of fuels and chemicals now made from fossil fuels. 

Key benefits of the BioForming platform:

 

Virent's BioForming technology is transforming how biofuels and bioproducts are sourced, produced, and transported.   It's the sustainable and economical solution to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  It's the BioForming difference.

Overview
The BioForming® platform can convert a wide range of biomass-derived feedstocks to fuels and chemicals. The BioForming process is optimized for the conversion of an individual feedstock to a defined end product.

	Glycerol, Sorbitol Glucose, Sucrose Polysaccharides
Cellulose Hemi-Cellulose		Waste from Food & Fiber Production
Gasoline Jet Fuel Diesel		Propylene Glycol IPA Benzene Acetone Others
	Hydrogen SuperNatural™ Gas Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

 

Biofuels

Virent's BioForming® process produces carbon neutral versions of the same fuels we use every day. The technology converts carbohydrates from biomass into:

These biofuels have the same properties as their petroleum based counterparts.  They have the same energy content (for example, gasoline has 52 percent more energy per gallon than ethanol) and can move through existing pipelines and power any car, anywhere that gasoline stations exist today.  Gasoline made using the BioForming process will enjoy a 20-30% cost per BTU advantage over ethanol.  Because they are easily implemented in today's marketplace and are cost-effective, Virent's biofuels can achieve immediate market acceptance.

The BioForming technology produces twice the net energy per acre as traditional ethanol processes.  Virent's production process requires little energy and its biofuels separate naturally from water, unlike ethanol which requires energy inputs (61 percent of its final energy content) to separate it from water.

Virent's technology can utilize a wider range of more plentiful feedstocks than existing biofuel technologies and will have greater success using cellulosic biomass.   This dramatically expands the volume of energy which can be produced.