ZeaChem Expands Board of Directors and Raises $19 Million to Advance Commercial Production

Company Adds Ross Pillari and Charles Shaver as Independent Directors to Board;Birchmere Ventures Leads Series C Financing

Lakewood, Colo. – October 25, 2011 – ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals, today announced it has added two independent members to its Board of Directors, Ross Pillari and Charles “Charlie” Shaver. Mr. Pillari spent 35 years with BP, including as chairman and chief executive officer of BP America Inc. He currently serves as an advisory board member to CVC Capital Partners, Inc. Mr. Shaver has three decades of experience in the chemicals industry, most recently serving as president of The TPC Group, Inc. (TPCG). He began his career with Dow Chemical Company and also served at Arch Chemicals, Inc. and Gentek/General Chemical, Inc.
 
“ZeaChem welcomes Ross and Charlie to ZeaChem’s Board of Directors. They bring unparalleled oil refining and marketing as well as chemicals industry experience to the ZeaChem team as we move toward commercialization,” said Jim Imbler, president and chief executive officer of ZeaChem.
ZeaChem also announced it has raised $19 million in Series C financing, led by Birchmere Ventures, and partner Sean D.S. Sebastian has joined the ZeaChem Board of Directors. Follow on investment was provided by existing investors Firelake Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, PrairieGold Venture Partners and Spring Ventures.
“As an industry leader in the advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals industries, ZeaChem’s proven capability to produce economical and sustainable petroleum alternatives is an innovation we are pleased to add to our portfolio,” said Sean D. S. Sebastian, partner of Birchmere Ventures. “ZeaChem has an experienced team in place to successfully implement its business strategy and transform the fuel and chemical industries.”
“ZeaChem appreciates the new investment from Birchmere Ventures and the continuing support and confidence from our existing investors as we commercialize our highly efficient, economical and flexible biorefinery technology,” Imbler added.
ZeaChem’s 250,000 GPY integrated demonstration biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon, will begin to come online in 2011. The company is now developing commercial biorefineries for the production of advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals.
 
 
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About ZeaChem Inc.
ZeaChem Inc. has developed a cellulose-based biorefinery platform capable of producing advanced fuels and intermediate chemicals. ZeaChem's indirect approach leapfrogs the yield and carbon dioxide (CO2) problems associated with traditional and cellulosic based biorefinery processes. In addition, ZeaChem has a significant capital cost advantage compared to other cellulosic technologies. By efficiently extracting the most energy possible from biomass feedstocks, ZeaChem significantly increases output while reducing both production costs and environmental impacts. Incorporated in 2002, ZeaChem is headquartered in Lakewood, Colo. and operates a research and development laboratory facility in Menlo Park, Calif.
Please visit www.zeachem.com for more information.