VIASPACE Press Release

VIASPACE GIANT KING GRASS FOR CELLULOSIC ETHANOL FEATURED IN APRIL ISSUE OF BIOREFINING MAGAZINE

04/18/2011

Likely 10 times Bioethanol Yield Per Acre Compared to Corn Straw

IRVINE, Calif.-April 18, 2011-VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC - News), a clean energy company growing Giant King^TM Grass as a low-carbon, renewable biomass crop and its subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VGREF), today reported that VIASPACE Giant King Grass was featured in the April issue of Biorefining Magazine which interviewed CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen.  Data comparing the composition of Giant King Grass compared to corn straw and wheat straw was released.  The sugar composition is important for fermentation processes to produce bioethanol, butanol, biochemicals and bioplastics.

Biorefining Magazine provides in-depth coverage of advanced biomass refining technology scale-up, project finance, policy and markets with a core focus on the industrial, refining and agribusiness alliances defining a transformative global industry. 

The Biorefining Magazine article entitled, "A Field of Promise: VIASPACE reports independent test results of Giant King Grass evaluation" was written by Erin Voegele.

The article reported, "Data gathered during independent evaluations of VIASPACE Inc.'s Giant King Grass demonstrate the crop has essentially the same properties as corn stover and wheat straw. According to VIASPACE, the third-party testing included evaluations of the crop's sugar and lignin content, several levels of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis to sugars.

‘These initial results show that a ton of Giant King Grass can yield as much bioethanol as a ton of corn stover,' says VIASPACE Chief Executive Carl Kukkonen. ‘This validates Giant King Grass, a nonfood, dedicated energy crop, as a competitive feedstock for producing cellulosic biofuels.'

Perhaps most importantly, Kukkonen notes that the per acre yields of Giant King Grass are up to 10 times higher than those of corn stover. ‘With our high yield, we believe that Giant King Grass can reduce biofuel feedstock costs by up to 40 percent, even when compared to projected prices for corn straw as agricultural waste,' Kukkonen continues.

While Giant King Grass has obvious yield benefits, VIASPACE notes that the crop also has other positive attributes. While it cannot be grown in colder climates, like corn and wheat can, the perennial grass can be harvested several times per year while leaving the soil ecosystem relatively intact, providing advantages regarding soil erosion, carbon sequestration and potential nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere."

The Biorefining Magazine article can be accessed at http://www.biorefiningmagazine.com/articles/5392/a-field-of-promise

VIASPACE reports that the Giant King Grass data was an average of samples measured at three independent company laboratories. The corn straw data is an average reported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the wheat straw data is from a paper by Prof. Erdei.

Glucan, a sugar polymer, can be converted to glucose and then fermented to ethanol, butanol or lactic acid (which can be used to make bio plastics). Xylan and Arabinan are also sugar polymers and can also be converted to ethanol or butanol, or to important biochemicals such as acetic acid or furfural. Lignin can be burned as a power plant fuel or used as a fiber strengthener for structural plastics, similar to carbon fiber materials. 

VIASPACE is working with companies on opportunities for Giant King Grass to be used as a fuel for biomass electric power plants, and as a feedstock for producing biogas through anaerobic digestion, and as a feedstock for biorefineries to produce biofuels, biochemicals and bioplastics. The high tons per acre yield of Giant King Grass makes it attractive as a reliable, low cost alternative to coal and oil for electricity and biofuels production.

About VIASPACE Inc.

VIASPACE is a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil and high-pollutant energy sources. Through its majority-owned subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc., the Company grows Giant King Grass as a low-carbon fuel for electricity generating power plants, as a feedstock for bio methane production and cellulosic biofuels, and for other low-carbon, renewable energy products. VIASPACE recently introduced its Green Log^TM fireplace and campfire log product. For more information, please go to http://www.viaspace.com/ or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or [email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement

Information in this news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as well as general economic and business conditions; the ability to acquire and develop specific products and technologies; changes in consumer and business demand for the Company's products; competition from larger companies; changes in demand for alternative and clean energy; risks associated with international transactions; risks related to technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.