Statement from Sapphire Energy's Tim Zenk, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Regarding Award of $5 Million Grant from the USDOE

Sapphire Energy was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the continued advancement of its algae-based, refinery-ready, renewable crude oil technologies.

SAN DIEGO, August 1, 2013 – Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today announced nearly $16.5 million to four projects in California, Hawaii and New Mexico aimed at breaking down technical barriers and accelerating the development of sustainable, affordable algae biofuels. The projects will help boost the productivity of sustainable algae, while cutting capital and operating costs of commercial-scale production.


Sapphire Energy was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the continued advancement of its algae-based, refinery-ready, renewable crude oil technologies. This new investment will go towards the company's continued effort to improve its systems, bring production to commercial scale, and further prove the techno-economics of this first-ever business model for the energy industry. For this award Sapphire has partnered with the Institute for Systems Biology, the University of Michigan, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the University of Virginia.

"Sapphire Energy is very appreciative of the continued support by the USDOE in our steadfast mission to make algae-based crude oil a viable fuel alternative for our nation and the world," said Tim Zenk, vice president of corporate affairs at Sapphire Energy. "With every met milestone, we are proving that algae fuel is efficient, sustainable, scalable, compatible with our existing infrastructure of refineries and transportation systems, and good for the environment. This new investment by the DoE further validates our work, and will help us move forward as we work to refine our technologies and move towards commercial scale production."

About Sapphire Energy

San Diego-based Sapphire Energy is pioneering an entirely new industry – Green Crude production – with the potential to profoundly change America's energy and petrochemical landscape for the better. Sapphire's products and processes in this category differ significantly from other forms of biofuel because they are made solely from photosynthetic microorganisms (algae and cyanobacteria), using sunlight and CO2 as their feedstock; are not dependent on food crops or valuable farmland; do not use potable water; do not result in biodiesel or ethanol; enhance and replace petroleum-based products; are compatible with existing infrastructure; and are low carbon, renewable and scalable. Sapphire has an R&D facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is currently operating the first Integrated Algal BioRefinery in Columbus, New Mexico, continuously since May 1, 2012. For more information, visit www.sapphireenergy.com

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