ZeaChem, Inc. Announces Long-Term Poplar Tree Feed Stock Supply Agreement With GreenWood Resources, Inc. for a Bio-Refinery

LAKEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeaChem, Inc. and GreenWood Resources, Inc. (GWR), on behalf of GreenWood Tree Farm Fund, LP ("GTFF") announced today the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent to supply poplar tree (aka Pacific Albus) feed stock under a long-term agreement to support the operation of an initial 1.5 million gallon per year (GPY) ZeaChem cellulosic Bio-Refinery ("Bio-Refinery") located near GTFF's Boardman, Oregon Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified Pacific Albus tree farm in the Columbia River Basin. Additionally, ZeaChem and GWR agreed to explore increasing the scope of the relationship to accommodate additional capacity at this Bio-Refinery and other future sites through the potential development of short-rotation poplar biomass energy tree farms integrated with ethanol conversion technology.

ZeaChem will be responsible for financing, constructing and operating the Bio-Refinery. The Bio-Refinery will be located at the Port of Morrow near GTFF's existing Pacific Albus tree farms. Initial engineering for the site has already begun.

Jeff Nuss, President and CEO of GWR, said, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to utilize a portion of the existing residual fiber from the GreenWood Tree Farms, and to bring our expertise in silviculture, germplasm, irrigation technology and global organizational reach together with ZeaChem's novel approach to producing cellulosic-based chemicals and ethanol. We look forward to working with ZeaChem as it commercializes its process and believe it sets the stage for the development of future short rotation poplar biomass energy tree farms integrated with emerging technologies for converting to ethanol."

"Today's announcement is a win-win for both companies. It allows GreenWood to benefit from the development of the growing market demand for cellulosic-based chemicals and ethanol, while providing ZeaChem with a dedicated long-term cellulosic feed stock source from the leader in intensively-managed hybrid poplar trees for our planned initial 1.5 million GPY Bio-Refinery and other future sites," said James Imbler, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZeaChem, Inc.

About GreenWood Resources, Inc. & GreenWood Tree Farm Fund, LP

GreenWood Resources (GWR) is the global leader in the development and management of short-rotation, high yield hardwood tree farms for a range of products and end uses.

The GreenWood Tree Farm Fund, LP ("GTFF"), a $175,000,000 fund organized by GWR, has invested in the consolidation of existing high-yield, fast-growing tree farm assets in the Pacific Northwest. GTFF currently owns 35,000 acres of sustainable tree farms certified under FSC in the Columbia Basin in Oregon and Washington. Investment management for the GTFF is provided through GreenWood Capital Management North America, LLC (a majority control subsidiary of GWR). GWR also provides tree farm property and irrigation management for GTFF. GTFF has also organized to capture unrealized value from its tree farms, by developing value-added processing with The Collins Companies of Portland, Oregon, to move logs into solid wood products markets. Collins provides management to the mills planned by GTFF, and marketing and sales activities for the FSC-certified Pacific Albus wood generated from the manufacturing. Please visit http://www.greenwoodresources.com for more information.

About ZeaChem, Inc.

ZeaChem Inc. builds and operates bio-refineries for the conversion of biomass into next-generation cellulosic ethanol fuel and cellulose-based intermediate chemicals. ZeaChem's hybrid bio-refining technology overcomes yield and emissions problems associated with the traditional biofuels business by using unique hybrid fermentation and chemical processes for the conversion of biomass to cellulosic-based chemicals and ethanol. ZeaChem's platform has the highest carbon and energy efficiency results of any known process, allowing the company to become the lowest cost producer of ethanol. Incorporated in 2002, ZeaChem is headquartered in Lakewood, CO with a laboratory and pilot plant in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit http://www.zeachem.com.