Verenium will now begin discussions with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to determine the amount of the award.

Demonstration-scale facilities are deemed a critical development step to scaling and validating cellulosic technology as the industry advances toward the commercialization of next-generation ethanol.

Verenium is one of two companies that were selected for this round of US DOE grants and will utilize the funds to support ongoing activities at its 1.4 million-gallon-per-year demonstration-scale facility in Jennings, Louisiana.

Carlos Riva, president and CEO at Verenium, said: This award supports a very important phase of our growth as we seek to validate cost and performance goals in our demonstration plant that will allow us to move to commercial scale.