BP and Verenium just announced that they have been selected by the Department of Energy to begin the next phase of negotiations for the DOE loan guarantee program. If BP and Verenium are approved, the government may guarantee up to 80% of loans needed to finance their jointly-owned cellulosic ethanol project, scheduled to start construction next year.

In a company press release, executives from both companies commented on the news:

“We are thrilled to move forward into this next phase with the DOE. We believe this signals an important endorsement of our cellulosic process technology and a strong show of support for the advancement of next-generation biofuels,” said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium. “This type of government support is absolutely critical to develop new technology at commercial scale and enable the growth of emerging, high-impact industries, such as alternative energy.”

“The joint venture’s progress to the next stage of the review process for the DOE loan guarantee program is very encouraging. We look forward to hearing the outcome of the process and being able to proceed with building an important new cellulosic ethanol plant in Florida,” Sue Ellerbusch, President of BP Biofuels North America said.
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