Qteros and Praj Industries Announce Broad Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Global Commercialization of Cellulosic Ethanol

MARLBOROUGH, Massachusetts and PUNE, India, January 5, 2011 - –Companies to Jointly Develop Process Design Packages (PDPs) that Enable
Lowest Cost, Commercial-Scale Ethanol Production from Sugarcane, Corn and
Wheat Residuals–

–Qteros' Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) Platform to Serve as PDP
Technology Foundation; Enables Highly Streamlined Engineering Design and
Delivers World-Class Economic Returns to Ethanol Producers–

–Praj's Experience and Installed Base of More than 450 Ethanol Plants
Around the World Accelerates Commercialization Pathway for PDPs–

Qteros, Inc., the developer of a unique and highly efficient Consolidated
Bioprocessing (CBP) platform for the lowest cost production of cellulosic
ethanol, and Praj Industries Limited (BSE: 522205 | NSE: PRAJIND), a global
leader in the development of innovative technology and engineering solutions
for the production of biofuels and biochemicals, today announced a strategic
partnership to accelerate commercialization efforts for industrial-scale
cellulosic ethanol production. The agreement leverages both Qteros' broadly
patent protected and highly flexible CBP platform with Praj's research
capabilities and its technology, process design, engineering and construction
expertise to deliver fully integrated engineering design packages for the
lowest cost production of ethanol from a broad variety of non-food based
feedstocks.

"Our partnership with Praj represents a transformational initiative for
Qteros," stated John A. McCarthy, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer
of Qteros. "We and Praj share close strategic and philosophical alignment
about the worldwide opportunities for large-scale cellulosic ethanol
production and believe that commercial success can only be achieved with
low-cost, highly scalable solutions made possible through creative and
best-in-class partnerships such as that crafted between our two companies.
Praj and Qteros bring together highly complementary skill sets and core
competencies which we expect will catalyze our ability to develop the
industry's low-cost solution - both from an operating and capital perspective
- for large-scale cellulosic ethanol production. Achieving our combined
objective will then provide the industry with a much-needed accelerant for
worldwide growth and will also enable our two companies to establish
leadership roles in this rapidly evolving global market. We look forward to
making our shared vision with Praj a commercial reality within the next 18-24
months."

"An optimized and streamlined consolidated bioprocessing platform offers
the potential to provide important production cost efficiencies and economic
returns to global ethanol producers," stated Pramod Chaudhari, Founder and
Executive Chairman, Praj Industries Ltd., and Chairman, Praj Group. "Praj has
achieved significant milestones in second generation, cellulosic ethanol
technology development. We have also evaluated the complete market landscape
for cellulosic ethanol conversion technologies and we believe Qteros' CBP
platform offers the most advanced technology solution to enable the lowest
cost production of cellulosic ethanol across a broad array of important
non-food based feedstocks. We believe this partnership will enhance the
results of the developmental breakthroughs achieved by Praj Matrix, the
Research and Development (R&D) division of Praj, which has worked with
virtually all types of cellulosic biomass at its pilot plant. Building on its
experience of installing ethanol plants in over 50 countries, Praj will bring
an integrated approach to the partnership in the second generation bioethanol
space."

Partnership Overview

Qteros and Praj will collaborate on a highly focused, multi-year
development program with the objective of rapidly developing and
commercializing Process Design Packages (PDPs) that enable cellulosic ethanol
production using Qteros' Q Microbe(R)-enabled CBP platform and Praj's
technology and expertise in the conversion of biomass to ethanol. This unique
licensing model serves to provide both a highly efficient and low-cost
solution to the market, while also allowing Qteros and Praj to deploy their
capital in an efficient and leveraged manner. Importantly, the companies plan
to retrofit Praj's existing pilot plant in Pune, India with Qteros'
technology platform, which will then become the foundation for accelerated
production scaling as part of its commercial planning.

Initially, the companies will focus their efforts on developing PDPs for
feedstocks that include sugarcane, corn and wheat residuals with the goal of
achieving commercial-readiness by the end of 2012. The companies believe that
their initial commercial plans will focus on Praj's existing broad base of
ethanol customers seeking to add co-located cellulosic ethanol facilities to
their existing ethanol infrastructure. Based on the achievement of certain
development and commercialization milestones, Qteros and Praj may elect to
broaden the partnership to incorporate additional feedstocks, and potentially
other biochemical products to be derived from Qteros' unique
microorganism-based platform.

Qteros' CBP Platform: Enabling Lowest Cost Production of Cellulosic
Ethanol

The uniqueness of Qteros' CBP platform is centered on the Company's
proprietary microorganism, the Q Microbe(R) (Clostridium phytofermentans) - a
naturally occurring "biorefinery" that produces virtually all enzymes
required for biomass degradation into pentose and hexose sugars, while
simultaneously co-fermenting all these sugars into ethanol as its natural
metabolic end product. The organism's innate biological ability to produce
ethanol from biomass enables Qteros to focus its development efforts on
optimizing the organism's effectiveness for industrial-scale production. This
highly streamlined engineering solution therefore results in significantly
lower operating and capital costs of production for producers versus other
competitive technology solutions. Moreover, the Q Microbe(R) is feedstock
flexible, producing high yields of cellulosic ethanol from a broad range of
non-food biomass materials, including, among others, sugarcane bagasse, corn
stover and cobs, and a broad variety of energy crops.

Praj's Technology and Expertise in the Conversion of Biomass to Ethanol:
Accelerating Process Development and Enabling Rapid Commercialization

For more than 25 years, Praj has developed extensive proprietary
technology and gained significant experience and expertise in each of the
unit operations required for the successful development of an integrated,
commercial-scale bioethanol plant. Praj Matrix, the R & D division of Praj,
has focused for more than five years on a unique and proprietary technology
platform to pretreat a variety of lignocellulosic biomass to produce
hemicellulosic and cellulosic derivatives in a highly efficient and
cost-effective manner. Further, the laboratory and pilot plant facilities at
Praj Matrix allow for the fully integrated development and demonstration of
ethanol conversion technology. The full combination and integration of Praj's
demonstrated technology, experience and expertise together with its R&D
capabilities will accelerate process development and enable rapid
commercialization of cellulosic ethanol conversion technology.

The Global Demand for Cellulosic Ethanol

The market demand for cellulosic ethanol is supported by mandates from
governments around the world. Specifically in the United States, landmark
legislation such as The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007
calls for the blending of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the
annual fuel supply by 2022. Driven by numerous macro-economic trends
including energy security and environmental preservation, many other nations
are aggressively implementing renewable energy standards and driving demand
for the use of advanced fuels from biomass-derived, renewable feedstocks. In
2009, the worldwide market for ethanol was estimated at approximately $40
billion.

About Qteros, Inc.

Qteros' mission is to accelerate the global commercialization of
large-scale, lowest-cost cellulosic ethanol production. Qteros has teamed
with a core group of world-class strategic partners that complement and
leverage our advanced microbiology and process engineering expertise. Working
closely with its strategic partners, Qteros expects to rapidly scale its
highly efficient, lowest-cost Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) platform for
converting non-food biomass into biofuels. Qteros is funded by leading
investors in the alternative energy industry including, among others, Venrock
Associates, Battery Ventures, BP Technology Ventures, Soros Fund Management
LLC, and Valero Energy Corporation. For more information, please visit
www.qteros.com.

About Praj Industries Limited

Praj is a global Indian company that offers innovative solutions to add
significant value to bio-ethanol facilities, brewery plants, water &
wastewater treatment systems as well as process engineering, plant &
equipment for customers worldwide. With over 450 references across five
continents, Praj is a leading Ethanol Technology & Plant supplier with a
strong focus on second-generation bioethanol process development. Praj Matrix
- the innovation center, is the R & D Center of Praj Industries. Praj is a
knowledge-based company with expertise and experience in bioprocesses and
engineering. It delivers know-how, license, engineering design, plant &
equipment, project management, commissioning and customer care, and turnkey
projects. Led by an accomplished and caring leadership, Praj is a socially
responsible corporate citizen. Praj is listed on the Bombay and National
Stock Exchanges of India. For more information, visit www.praj.net

    Contact Information:

    For Qteros:                     For Praj Industries:
    Sue Hager                       Vinati Moghe
    Vice President, Corporate       Vice President, Corporate
    Communications & Government     +91-20-398-06314; +91-98-224-30906
    Affairs                         vinatimoghe@praj.net
    +1-508-251-6339
    shager@qteros.com

Sue Hager, Vice President, Corporate Communications & Government Affairs, Qteros, Inc., +1-508-251-6339, shager at qteros.com, or Vinati Moghe, Vice President, Corporate, Praj Industries, + 91-20-398-06314, +91-98-224-30906, vinatimoghe at praj.net