Green Energy Conference in Pasadena to Introduce Significant New Technologies

PASADENA, CA - June 2, 2007: GreenTech 2007, a day-long company showcase, will introduce the most exciting innovations in green and sustainable energy emerging from three academic powerhouses of scientific invention, CalTech, UCLA and USC. In addition to showcasing some of the hottest ideas in green energy, the day will include a panel of venture capitalists who will discuss the green energy market and areas for potential investment. GreenTech 2007, held in Pasadena, the #4 Cleantech city in the U.S., is oriented toward investors and potential partners for these immediately commercial and viable technologies.

The conference takes place Thursday, June 14, 2007, at the Hilton Hotel; 168 S. Los Robles, Pasadena, 91101

Michael A. Giardello, CEO of Materia, Inc., a conference sponsor, will present technology creating chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals from renewable sources. Materia was founded to commercialize olefin metathesis catalyst technology. This market-enabling, Nobel Prize-winning, green chemical technology enables chemical compounds to be synthesized with greater efficiency, under less stringent reaction conditions, and with reduced byproducts and hazardous waste. As stated by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences when awarding the 2005 Nobel Prize, “metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society and the environment.”

Materia, Inc. and Cargill have accomplished significant advancements in their joint effort to use Materia's proprietary technology for converting biobased oils to industrial chemicals, feedstocks and consumer products. The companies produced the first successful commercial proprietary product for Cargill's internal utilization. This is certain to be a product area of rapid growth in the marketplace.

BACKGROUND
Demand for energy is expected to triple by 2050, and new investment and technology will be vital to solving the crisis in resource sustainability. According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, bioenergy ranks second (to hydropower) in renewable U.S. primary energy production and accounts for three percent of the primary energy production in the nation. Bioenergy technologies use renewable resources, or biomass, to produce energy related products that include electricity, liquid, solid and gaseous fuels, heat, chemicals and other materials. Solar energy is also in the national spotlight, primarily due to the $3.2 billion dollars in funding over the next 11 years that California has allotted to it; and the global solar energy market and industry have shown growth figures of over 30% for more than 5 consecutive years.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources has announced that this month the U.S. Senate will take up energy legislation and a national renewable portfolio (RPS) amendment, presented by various senators and signed by supporters like GE, Google, the United Steelworkers, Union of Concerned Scientists, BP America, and Sierra Club, along with many others they will urge Congress to pass a national standard that would require utilities to supply a specific percentage of electricity from renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. The plan would create a renewables standard of 15 percent by 2020.

ABOUT THE PRESENTING COMPANIES:
Materia, Inc.
Michael A. Giardello, President & CEO
Materia provides catalyst technologies that enable, enhance and streamline the discovery, development and manufacture of new pharmaceuticals, chemicals and polymeric materials. Mr. Giardello will talk about this Nobel-prize winning technology.

Idealab
Bill Gross, Founder & CEO
Energy Innovations is a company based on an original concept developed at Idealab to generate affordable renewable energy. The company is building the world's first high-concentration solar power system designed for rooftop applications, called the Sunflower. By concentrating sunlight using inexpensive materials such as plastic and glass, the company can use a tiny fraction of the expensive photovoltaic material contained in traditional systems, thereby reducing the cost of solar significantly. The Sunflower will ship in 2007. Bill Gross will give the Keynote address.

Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corp., a VIASPACE company
Carl Kukkonen, CEO
DMFCC is a provider of disposable fuel cartridges and intellectual property protection for manufacturers of direct methanol and other liquid hydrocarbon fuel cells. Using technology licensed from Caltech/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Southern California (USC), DMFCC is developing proprietary products for distribution through a global standard network.

PowerMEMS
Carl Schulenburg, CEO
PowerMEMS Technologies specializes in the development of high energy density hybrid energy sources enabling lifetime power for small footprint systems.

Optimal Technologies
Roland Schoettle, Founder & CEO
Optimal Tech pursues new opportunities related to large-scale dynamic network optimization in the electric power industry. Optimal develops "smart grid" power technologies that automate and optimize the supply and the demand side of energy and end-use systems.

For a complete list of presenting companies, please visit www.GreenTech2007.com.