ATEL Ventures Commits Financing to Cleantech Company, Enerkem

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
ATEL Ventures, a provider of secured financing to growth companies, has extended
a significant asset-backed financing facility to waste-to-fuels cleantech
company, Enerkem.

"Most cleantech companies require significant capital equipment to build pilot
plants and manufacturing facilities; financing that equipment is ATEL`s sweet
spot," said Steven Rea, Executive Vice President, ATEL Ventures, Inc.

Enerkem is one of the world`s leading developers and producers of advanced
biofuels and green chemicals from waste materials. It is currently operating its
first commercial-scale plant in Westbury, Canada, and has announced plans to
build and operate additional second-generation biofuels production facilities in
Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada and in Pontotoc, Mississippi, in the US. The
funding will be used as a compliment to other sources of capital to support the
company`s growth.

"With three industrial-scale projects in Canada and the US, our progress is
tremendous and ATEL Ventures has proven to be valuable in providing strategic
asset-based financing for our company`s growth," said Vincent Chornet, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem.

About Enerkem

Enerkem is a leading waste-to-biofuels and green chemicals technology company.
It has developed a unique gasification, sequential gas conditioning and
catalysis technology platform capable of using a mix of feedstock such as sorted
municipal solid waste, forest biomass and agricultural residues. The company is
headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, and has engineering offices in Sherbrooke,
Quebec. It has a pilot plant in operation since 2003 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Enerkem`s first commercial-scale plant is based in Westbury, Quebec. The company
is also involved in the development of a municipal waste-to-biofuels plant in
Edmonton, Alberta, and recently announced the development of a second-generation
biofuels production facility to be located in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Enerkem is
a private company financed by leading US venture capital firms Rho Ventures and
Braemar Energy Ventures, the Canadian investment fund BDR Capital and the
Company's management. www.enerkem.com

About ATEL Ventures

Since its founding in 1977, San Francisco-based ATEL Capital Group has become
the largest private and closely-held independent leasing company in the United
States, with approximately $2 billion in asset-secured transactions under
management. ATEL Capital formed ATEL Ventures, Inc. to provide working capital
and equipment financing term loans to emerging growth companies in information
technology, life sciences, specialty retail and alternative energy. For
information about ATEL Ventures, contact Steven Rea, executive vice president,
srea@atel.com, or visit our website at www.atel.com/venture.

ATEL Ventures, Inc.
Steven Rea, 415-616-3436
Executive Vice President
srea@atel.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009