Since vehicle electrification is a Global endeavor, demand for this element may eventually exceed its supply, perhaps forcing us to ‘import’ the basic material to ‘refine’ into batteries.

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BP and Verenium Announce Vercipia Biofuels to Advance the Commercialization of Cellulosic Ethanol

* Press Release
* Source: Verenium Corporation
* On Wednesday July 29, 2009, 4:05 pm EDT

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — BP and Verenium Corporation (Nasdaq: VRNM - News) today announced that its 50-50 joint venture company will operate under the name Vercipia Biofuels, and plan to relocate its corporate headquarters to Florida. Vercipia continues to focus on the development of one of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities, located in Highlands County, Florida. The company is also developing a second commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol site in the Gulf Coast region

“I continue to be pleased and enthusiastic with the progress our joint venture - Vercipia - has made in only a few short months, and I look forward to a highly productive and successful next two years as we move toward bringing a first commercial facility into production,” said Carlos Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium.

“BP’s ‘all of the above’ approach to meeting America’s future energy needs includes a significant investment in biofuels development, as this project demonstrates,” said Susan Ellerbusch, President of BP Biofuels North America. “We believe Vercipia will be a key player in the biofuels supply chain in the coming years.”

Since announcing the formation of the joint venture company in February, Vercipia has applied for and been selected to move forward with due diligence on a Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee for the Highlands project, which is now underway. In addition, the team has continued to advance development activity in Florida and on a second site in the Gulf Coast region.

About Vercipia

Vercipia is a 50-50 joint venture (JV) between BP and Verenium. It is a partnership between two world-class energy leaders for the commercialization of next-generation cellulosic ethanol, a renewable transportation biofuel developed from dedicated energy crops and grasses. Vercipia is the commercial entity for the deployment of technology being developed under the first phase of the BP-Verenium partnership and brings together the entrepreneurial technology expertise of Verenium with the global engineering and operations experience of BP. These shared resources are developing one of the first fully-integrated commercial plants in the U.S. and expect to add additional capacity in the Gulf Coast region in the coming years. Vercipia plans to break ground on its first commercial plant in Highlands County, Florida in 2010. For more information on Vercipia, please visit http://www.vercipia.com.

About Verenium

Verenium Corporation is a leader in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, an environmentally-friendly and renewable transportation fuel, as well as high-performance specialty enzymes for applications within the biofuels, industrial, and animal health markets. The Company possesses integrated, end-to-end capabilities and cutting-edge technology in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation and project development for next-generation biofuels. Through Vercipia, the Company is moving rapidly to commercialize cellulosic technology for the production of ethanol from a wide array of non-food feedstocks, including dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, and wood products. In addition to the vast potential for biofuels, a multitude of large-scale industrial opportunities exist for the Company for products derived from the production of low-cost, biomass-derived sugars. For more information on Verenium, visit http://www.verenium.com.

About BP

BP is of one of the world’s largest energy companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. It is the largest oil and gas producer in the U.S. and one of the largest refiners. BP is also a leading player in the global biofuels market. Since 2006, BP has announced investments of more than $1.5 billion in biofuels research, development and operations. This includes partnerships with other companies to develop the technologies, feedstocks and processes required to produce advanced biofuels and $500 million over 10 years in the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), at which biotechnologists are investigating applications of biotechnology to energy. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/BP-and-Verenium-Announce-prnews-1688300331.html?x=0&.v=1

* Press Release
* Source: Ener1, Inc.
* On Monday July 27, 2009, 7:30 am EDT

NEW YORK, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A new, fully integrated electric drivetrain developed by electric vehicle pioneer, Think, and powered by a lithium-ion battery system made by U.S.-based EnerDel (subsidiary of Ener1, Inc. Nasdaq: HEV), has been delivered to Japan Post via Zero Sports. Zero Sports of Japan has been selected by Japan Post as one of the conversion partners for delivering vehicles as part of a comprehensive on-road testing program which has been fast-tracked by the Japan Postal Service to electrify their fleet of 22,000 delivery vehicles. With the support of strategic partner ITOCHU Corporation, who organized this project, EnerDel provided engineering support on the delivery of the first two postal service vehicles to Japan Post via Zero Sports.

The drivetrain is being used to convert a gasoline -powered truck to run entirely on electric drive. The real -life data will be shared with other major users and potential customers of electric vehicles, including other postal fleets in Europe and the Americas.

Initially developed for the Th!nk City electric car, the complete system is the first of its kind to provide off-the-shelf availability combined with made-to-order performance in a wide variety of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) applications.

“The ability to deliver a fully integrated, road-ready package that can be quickly tailored to suit a wide range of vehicle solutions is a major step forward for both of our companies,” said Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. “By significantly reducing time-to-market for our customers and meeting accelerated production milestones has opened up avenues of opportunity in exciting new programs. We are happy to be able to announce one such program today.”

The new technology platform being utilized for this program unites Think’s industry-leading EV drive system with EnerDel’s award-winning lithium-ion battery technology. A spin-out of Ford Motor Company in 2003, Think Global has more than 18 years’ experience in producing environmentally friendly vehicles. The two companies began an active partnership in 2007, with EnerDel developing a 26-kWh battery system for the Th!nk City vehicle, the first pure electric vehicle of its kind to use the next-generation technology.

“We have seen growing interest in supplying Think’s proprietary EV drive system to third parties, a significant new business line and revenue opportunity,” said Think Global CEO Richard Canny. “Our long standing relationship with EnerDel has culminated in one of the most advanced battery electric drive train systems in the world, producing reliable, high performance systems, which are both cost-effective and highly adaptable.”

The Japan Postal Service is currently converting 25 percent of its fleet of combustion engine vehicles to electric drive as part of a government push to accelerate market adoption and infrastructure development for electric drive vehicles. It is anticipated that federal fleets across the world will be soon to follow their example. Initially they will develop a fleet of pure electric vehicles for testing in general business and sales use in the Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures, where the two conversion vehicles are currently undergoing on-road testing. A picture of the vehicle may be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/meauur.

“Asia has long pioneered the future of electric drive, and Japan in particular has been a global leader in advancing its adoption,” Gassenheimer said. “We are pleased to be working on such a high-profile project, and excited to be contributing EnerDel’s proprietary lithium-ion battery technology designed and produced here in America. Working alongside our European partner Think, this has become a valuable global enterprise.”

ITOCHU Corporation, a multi-billion dollar Japanese trading company and seed investor in Ener1 has been instrumental in expanding the Ener1 and Think commercial presence in Japan through its broad sales and marketing network. Ener1 is also partnering with Kyushu Electric Power (”KEPCO”), one of the largest public power and utility companies in Japan to create and manufacture rapid recharging systems for electric vehicles. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ener1-Lithiumion-Battery-prnews-3548582661.html?x=0&.v=1

* Press Release
* Source: Northgate Minerals Corporation
* On Tuesday July 14, 2009, 4:35 pm EDT

.8 Million Ounces of Gold Added to Reserves

Notice: Conference Call and Webcast on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at
11:00 am ET

Dial in: +1 416-644-3416 or 1-800-732-6179

VANCOUVER, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - (All figures in US dollars except where noted) Northgate Minerals Corporation (TSX: NGX, NYSE Amex: NXG) is pleased to announce positive results from the Pre-feasibility Study (”Pre-feasibility”) on its 100% owned Young-Davidson project in Matachewan, Ontario. The Pre-feasibility was completed by AMEC Americas Limited (”AMEC”), an independent and internationally-recognized engineering firm, which also has been commissioned to complete a Feasibility Study on the project by year-end.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Northgate-Minerals-Announces-prnews-1111765592.html?x=0&.v=12