PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – December 8, 2009) – Materia announced today the launch of a new chemistry blog called All Things Metathesis. The site was developed by the company to establish a knowledge resource on olefin metathesis as well as to create a setting for metathesis users to discuss the evolving catalyst technology.

Olefin metathesis is a process in which two carbon-carbon double bonds (olefins) come together in a chemical reaction, forming new olefinic products in the process. Catalysts provide a pathway for the chemical reaction to take place. The Nobel Prize winning catalytic technology is used to synthesize chemical compounds with fewer manufacturing steps, while simultaneously reducing byproducts, solvents, and waste material generation. It is in broad use in the chemical, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries.

“All Things Metathesis is an outgrowth of Materia’s commitment to educate the academic and industrial communities about the benefits and applications of olefin metathesis,” stated Mike Giardello, the Company’s CEO. “We’ve developed considerable expertise in this field by exclusively focusing on the chemistry over the past eleven years. Therefore, we can provide relevant and timely technical information, particularly in regards to metathesis’ efficient application.”

All Things Metathesis began publishing posts in September. The site provides general information on olefin metathesis and specific information on ruthenium based metathesis catalysts.

Current content topics include:

· Olefin metathesis processes

· Best practices when using ruthenium catalysts

· Industrial and academic applications

· Ruthenium catalyst assessments

· Suggested resources for additional information

“Our hope is that All Things Metathesis will not only serve as a source of information, but also as a point of contact for chemists to discuss metathesis,” added Giardello. “Olefin metathesis is a powerful technology with tremendous commercial potential. We will do whatever we can to help people be successful in its application.”

For more information about All Things Metathesis, visit http://allthingsmetathesis.com.

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit www.materia-inc.com.

For more information please contact:

Tom Buel
Director of Communications
Materia, Inc.
(626) 584-8400
tbuel@materia-inc.com

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – October 13, 2009) – Materia announced today the exclusive licensing of its metathesis technology to BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, for use in the research and development of certain specialty chemicals. No financial terms were disclosed.

Metathesis catalysts enable the formation and manipulation of carbon-carbon bonds in the synthesis of novel specialty chemicals with superior properties as well as in the development of more efficient and low cost production processes for existing ones. Materia’s catalysts include those from Professor Robert Grubbs at Caltech who won the Nobel Prize for the technology in 2005.

“BASF’s technological and commercial leadership, coupled with its strong understanding of metathesis chemistry, makes it an obvious licensee choice,” stated Dr. Michael Giardello, Materia’s Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to their successful product development.”

“Olefin metathesis stands among a few of the most versatile ways to make carbon-carbon bonds in an elegant and atom economical way. We are looking for industrial applications within the BASF portfolio and hope to help the technology finally achieve the industrial impact it should have,” stated Dr. Guido Voit, head of BASF’s department of Basic Chemicals Research.

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit www.materia-inc.com.

About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has approximately 97,000 employees and posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

For more information please contact:.

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia, Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – May 12, 2009) – Materia, Inc. announced today the appointment of Timothy McCarthy as Vice President, Marketing and Sales. Tim will be responsible for the commercial development of Materia’s proprietary Poly-DCPD resin business.

Mr. McCarthy formerly was the VP of Sales and Marketing for the Zoltek Corporation, where he was instrumental in the company pioneering the use of carbon fiber in industrial applications, especially for the construction of next-generation wind turbine blades. Additionally he secured several high-value development agreements in the areas of automotive, offshore oil & gas, and infrastructure.

“We believe Tim’s experience, particularly in the area of wind energy, will add tremendous value to Materia’s current commercial efforts,” stated Michael A. Giardello, Ph.D., Materia’s CEO. “He has extensive market knowledge and contacts in the industry segments Materia is targeting for commercial development.”

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit www.materia-inc.com.

For more information please contact:.

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia, Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – April 21, 2009) – Materia, Inc. announced today the receipt of Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS; a component of the NIH) for the further development of a family of advanced reagents for drug discovery.

The program, a collaborative effort between Materia and Professor Paul R. Hanson of the University of Kansas, uses Materia’s proprietary Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) catalysts to generate high-load polymeric reagents/scavengers with tunable properties for application in high-throughput chemistry and parallel synthesis. Pharmaceutical researchers heavily use immobilized reagents to facilitate lead generation and lead optimization. The tunable properties of the new reagents enable significantly improved efficiencies regarding lower mass loadings, higher reaction kinetics, and more desirable solubility profiles while retaining the desirable handling and separation characteristics of traditional solid-phase reagents.

“The Phase I results in conjunction with development work within the University of Kansas Chemical Methodologies and Library Development Center (KU-CMLD) quite convincingly demonstrated the efficiency and versatility of the ROMP technology for the synthesis of these highly functional systems,” stated Dr. Mark S. Trimmer, Materia’s Vice President of R&D. “It is exciting that the NIH recognizes the importance of this work and promotes programs such as the STTR to foster the teaming of small high-tech companies with prestigious academic institutions such as KU to develop commercial solutions to important technical problems.” Professor Paul R. Hanson of the University of Kansas adds, “This grant will enable production of these reagent tools and distribution to the wider academic and pharmaceutical community. In collaboration with the KU-CMLD Center, we hope to advance these reagents further into new and exciting areas of synthesis and drug discovery.”

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit www.materia-inc.com.

About the University of Kansas Chemical Methodologies and Library Development Center (KU-CMLD)
The NIH Center in Chemical Methodologies and Library Development (CMLD, Jeffrey Aubé, PI, Medicinal Chemistry) is a multidisciplinary initiative established in 2003 to enable the development of new chemical methodologies to enhance projects directed at library synthesis. Current focus includes the broad areas of microwave-assisted flow synthesis, methods for complex scaffold synthesis, organometallic parallel synthesis and the preparation of libraries based on natural products.

For more information please contact:.

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia, Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

The project described was supported by Award Number R42GM076765 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – October 1, 2008) – Materia announced today Army funding for the development of fire resistant fuel additives. As described by the Army, enemy combatants target fuel tanks so that small munitions and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) can cause great loss of life through explosive fuel combustion. Novel additives could provide superior protection against these ballistic-initiated incendiary threats.

Materia’s new program will leverage technology from Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). JPL’s fundamental work demonstrated the efficacy of polymer-based fuel misting control, which dramatically curtailed incendiary damage to tested aircraft. More recently, Caltech’s advancements in polymer design enabled greater fire protection and reduced system complexity without simultaneously harming fuel performance. The Materia effort will synthesize and test “next generation” additives for military-viable fire resistance and system drop-in capability.

“We are excited that our technology may enable novel polymeric materials with life-saving characteristics,” stated Mark Trimmer, Materia’s Executive Vice President and Vice President of Research and Development. “While this application is new for us, the underlying chemistry has been under development at Materia for some time. We hope to quickly meet the Army’s performance targets with a scalable solution.”

As described, military applications will remain the program focus although successful product development could also benefit the commercial aviation and automotive racing industries.

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com.

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – September 10, 2008) – Materia announced today a new Dow Corning and Elevance joint development and marketing agreement to apply metathesis technology in the personal care market. Elevance, an independent company created by Materia and Cargill and financed by TPG, applies Materia’s Nobel Prize winning metathesis technology to natural oils to aggressively grow in the $500 billion specialty chemicals market.

In the newly formalized relationship, Elevance and Dow Corning will utilize Materia’s metathesis technology to produce a unique line of naturally derived petrolatum alternatives for use in skin care, color cosmetic, hair care, and underarm products. Elevance and Dow Corning believe that this line will capture a major part of the $2-3 billion natural and organic personal care market.

“Elevance’s production scale-up was a major commercial milestone for our metathesis technology,” stated Michael Giardello, Materia’s CEO. “This joint development and marketing agreement represents a second major milestone – market validation. We are pleased to continue our support of Elevance in this new growth opportunity through technology, product, and process development.”

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com.

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

Calgary, AB & Pasadena, CA — (Marketwire – August 14, 2008) – University Technologies International (UTI), the University of Calgary’s technology transfer, commercialization and incubation center, and Materia Inc., a chemical technology company based in California, today announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement for olefin metathesis catalysts developed by Dr. Warren Piers.

“Materia’s expertise in commercializing catalyst technology along with their international competitiveness made them the ideal licensing partner for Dr. Piers’ technology,” said Kevin Casement, vice-president, licensing & business development for UTI. “This agreement illustrates the valuable partnerships being created between university researchers and the business community to bring innovative new technologies to the market.”

This exclusive license is an expansion of the 2004 agreement between UTI and Materia which allowed Materia to provide research materials and support for further scientific studies on Dr. Piers’ metathesis catalysts. Promising results prompted Materia to expand their agreement to an exclusive license which allows them the rights to sell and produce products using Dr. Piers’ technology. The catalysts produced by Dr. Piers are very active and have a faster rate of initiation than some other catalysts. This can allow for the manipulation of carbon-carbon bonds at lower temperatures, potentially decreasing energy consumption and enhancing cost-effectiveness.

“Our relationship with Dr. Warren Piers and the University of Calgary is a great example of how Materia successfully partners with academic thought leaders,” stated Mike Giardello, Materia’s CEO. “We welcome the addition of this technology to our market-dominant ruthenium metathesis catalyst portfolio and look forward to our expanded relationship with Dr. Piers.”

Materia will screen Dr. Piers’ catalysts for a number of challenging olefinic transformations. Added Dr. Giardello, “this technology brings another dimension to our well established catalyst platform.”

About Materia Inc.
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com

About UTI

University Technologies International is the University of Calgary’s technology transfer, commercialization and incubation centre for inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. UTI’s reach expands beyond the University community to include the local business and inventor community. UTI was founded in 1989 and consistently ranks in the top four centers of its kind in Canada and is recognized as an innovation leader in commercializing technology. For more information visit: www.uti.ca

For more information, please contact:

John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
Materia Inc.
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com
www.materia-inc.com

Kelly Sansom
Director, Marketing & Communications
University Technologies International
(403) 270-2431
sansom@uti.ca
www.uti.ca

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – May 27, 2008) – CMEA Ventures has signed on as the exclusive VC sponsor of GreenTech 2008. Maurice E.P. Gunderson, Senior Partner of CMEA, will also offer his informed perspective as the Keynote Speaker at the conference.

Materia, Inc., a green technology Caltech spin-off commercializing Nobel Prize-winning research, will be co-hosting GreenTech 2008 with Entretech, the leading non-profit association supporting the growth of technology companies in Greater Los Angeles. The event showcases smart young companies from Caltech, UCLA, USC and elsewhere, using “green” technologies and products to transform the marketplace within the next three to five years.

“CMEA is pleased to be the exclusive VC sponsor of GreenTech as we believe the conference provides enormous investment and networking opportunities on the cutting edge of environmental issues and potential resolves, especially as consumers, investors, and governments realize the importance of their choices for the future of the environment,” Gunderson commented. “Our partnership with Caltech, Materia and Entretech is a great way to harness the creative spirit of the Southern California technology community.”

“We are excited to have CMEA as our VC partner,” said Michael A. Giardello, CEO of Materia and Chairman of GreenTech 2008. “It is an indication of the importance of ‘green’ technology and CMEA’s leadership in investing in this space and in facilitating the commercialization of technology that will address the growing problems we are facing in natural resource allocation, global climate change, and sustainable economic growth.”

GreenTech 2008’s power program includes Elevance, a renewable chemicals company recently formed by Cargill and Materia which secured more than $40 million in finance, and Gevo, Inc., a leading developer of the next generation of biofuels, including jet fuel.

The June 6th event will be held at the Pasadena Hilton. For more on GreenTech 2008, including speaker background, program information, sponsorship opportunities and registration details, please visit www.greentech2008.com, or contact Stephanie Yanchinski, Executive Director of Entretech, at (626) 356-9933 or info@greentech2008.com

About Materia, Inc.
Materia was founded in 1998 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. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging “green technology” platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. 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.” For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com.

About CMEA Ventures

CMEA Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on energy & materials, high technology, and life sciences investments. CMEA believes that the most successful venture backed companies are science focused and have experienced teams intent on winning. As a result, CMEA’s portfolio companies typically have cutting edge, highly differentiated, and often multidisciplinary technology at their core, with founding teams of the highest caliber.
CMEA invests in both early and late stage ventures, and has a strong network of corporate, investment, and entrepreneurial relationships that it leverages on behalf of its portfolio companies. The firm currently manages six funds representing investments in excess of $1 billion. CMEA has been an early stage investor in many leading Silicon Valley high technology companies, including Entropic (ENTR), Flextronics (FLEX), Magma (LAVA), Maxygen (MAXY), Monogram Biosciences (MGRM), Silicon Spice (BRCM), Symyx (SMMX), and Syrrx (purchased by Takeda.) Further information about the company can be obtained at www.cmeaventures.com.

About Entretech
Entretech is the leading non-profit association supporting high tech companies in Greater Los Angeles with critical and practical business development resources and connections. Our mission is to grow the technology cluster in the L.A. region, and support such growth in Southern California as a whole. Entretech empowers entrepreneurs to build new businesses through capital, education, people, and strategic partners. Through a dedicated relationship with the California Institute of Technology, UCLA and USC, Entretech provides opportunities to new technology companies forming tomorrow’s high tech industry. Visit www.entretech.org for additional information.

For more information please contact:

Materia, Inc.
John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
(626) 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – May, 14, 2008) – Entretech (www.entretech.org), the leading non-profit association supporting high-technology companies in Greater Los Angeles with critical and practical business development resources and connections, announced today that Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., will lead a stellar lineup of presenters at the 2nd annual GreenTech 2008. The program will feature companies with advanced clean technologies in the areas of solar power, wind energy, hydropower, biofuels from cellulosic sources, nuclear power, new materials from renewable sources, and fuel cells.

Elevance was created through collaboration between Materia, a green chemicals company, and Cargill Ventures, after receiving a $1.8 MM matching grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2004. Elevance recently secured more than $40 million in venture capital led by investments from TPG STAR, L.P. and TPG Biotechnology Partners II, L.P. The new company expects to generate over $1 billion in sales by 2016.

Elevance will harness the potential of natural oils combined with Materia’s Nobel Prize winning metathesis technology to aggressively grow in the $500 billion specialty chemicals market.
In addition to Elevance, GreenTech will showcase some of the most exciting innovations emerging from Caltech, UCLA, and several innovative companies that have technologies with breakthrough potential over the next 3-5 years. The single-track, one-day program will be divided into energy production, renewable fuels and new products and materials. It will also include a Venture Capital panel which will highlight investment opportunities in the rapidly progressing green technology sector.

Other program highlights include presentations from:

• Paul Glenney, Director, Clean Energy Technology Center, AeroVironment, Inc. (www.avinc.com), an innovative developer of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Efficient Electric Energy Technologies. Glenney will discuss market opportunities and barriers for on-site renewable energy generation

• David Dreessen, Partner of Battery Ventures (www.battery.com), a technology investment firm that has raised nearly $3 billion since its inception in 1983. Dreessen, who specializes in clean technology investing, will offer his forecast on this sector.

• Dr. Phillip Finck, Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science & Technology at the DOE-funded Idaho National Laboratory, will discuss the resurgence of interest in nuclear power as a source of energy and new technologies destined to make it safer and cleaner.

Additional GreenTech participants:

• Los Angeles Department of Water & Power – on their ambitious target of 20% renewables by 2010 and its continued plans for wind power

• Studio RMA – a full service design studio, offering sustainable Architectural, Interior, Landscape and Engineering concepts

• AquaNano Technologies – a Caltech company commercializing a new water filtration/separation technology for delivering low cost water purification to underdeveloped parts of the world

• NanoH20 – uses UCLA nanotechnology discoveries to create advanced membrane materials for the desalination and water reuse industries

• Solarmer Energy – develops flexible translucent plastic solar cells which generate low-cost clean energy from the sun

Entretech is co-hosting the event with Materia, Inc., a Caltech spin-off, with support from partners, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USC, UCLA and Nixon Peabody LLP.

For more on GreenTech 2008, including speaker background, program information, sponsorship opportunities and registration details, please visit www.GreenTech2008.com, or contact Stephanie Yanchinski, Executive Director of Entretech, at 626-356-9933 or info@greentech2008.com

About Entretech (www.entretech.org)

Entretech is the leading non-profit association supporting high tech companies in Greater Los Angeles with critical and practical business development resources and connections. Our mission is to grow the technology cluster in the L.A. region, and support such growth in Southern California as a whole. Entretech empowers entrepreneurs to build new businesses through capital, education, people, and strategic partners. Through a dedicated relationship with the California Institute of Technology, UCLA and USC, Entretech provides opportunities to new technology companies forming tomorrow’s high tech industry.

###
Contact:
Stephanie C. Yanchinski
Executive Director, Entretech
626-356-9933 office
626-818-5092 cell
info@greentech2008.com

New Renewable Specialty Chemicals Company to Tap $500+ Billion Global Market

PASADENA, CA — (Marketwire – March 25, 2008) – Materia, Inc., a catalyst technology company and Caltech spin-off, announced today the creation and independent financing of a new company that builds on technology developed by Materia in partnership with Cargill, Incorporated. The new entity, named Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. , will harness the potential of natural oils combined with Materia’s Nobel Prize winning metathesis technology to aggressively grow in the $500 billion specialty chemicals market. Emerging from collaboration between Materia and Cargill that started in 2004 after receiving a $1.8 MM matching grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Elevance was recently formed and secured more than $40 million in venture capital led by investments from TPG STAR, L.P. and TPG Biotechnology Partners II, L.P. The new company expects to generate over $1 billion in sales by 2016.

Elevance develops and commercializes value-added chemicals and materials by applying Materia’s metathesis technology to low-cost renewable oils (e.g., soy, canola, corn, etc.).This Nobel Prize winning catalyst technology continues to be developed by Materia and the laboratories of Nobel Laureate Dr. Robert H. Grubbs of The California Institute of Technology. Elevance already has a strong foundation producing commercial grade waxes that are sold on a global basis today, often under the name NatureWax®, and plans to quickly expand these offerings with functional oils and anti-microbials in the near term and lubricants, additives, and other chemicals closely thereafter. The company has recruited a world class management team and Board led by K’Lynne Johnson, who most recently led a $3B division of Innovene and has held executive positions within BP and Amoco. Cargill and Materia will stay involved as commercial partners as well as investors. Elevance expects to continue to establish collaborative partnerships in the marketplace to accelerate the development of novel products, facilitate their cost effective manufacture, and rapidly take them to market.

“Elevance was founded to create a next generation specialty chemical company that can leverage multiple feedstocks such as soy, canola and corn” said K’Lynne Johnson, CEO. “Our technology is not a single solution, but a broad, enabling one that will allow Elevance to create a wide range of performance advantaged specialty chemicals based on renewable raw materials that also are friendlier to the environment than the existing crude oil derivatives.”

“Elevance is based on cutting edge yet well established technologies and is quickly moving new products into the marketplace,” said Mike Giardello, CEO of Materia. “In addition, Elevance has the advantage of four years of process improvement and commercialization experience with tremendous potential for further advancement within the specialty chemicals industry. We believe this transaction further validates the commercial potential of Materia’s catalyst technology and its value in the global marketplace.”

About Materia
Materia was founded in 1998 to commercialize olefin metathesis catalyst technology. This Nobel Prize winning, green 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.”

For more information please contact:

Materia
John Kibler
Director, Corporate Development
626 584-8400
jkibler@materia-inc.com