EFTI Earthfirst Technologies Inc (CE)

EarthFirst Technologies, Incorporated (�EarthFirst� or �the Company�) (OTCBB:EFTI) announced today that it has entered into an Agreement with Ultra Green Energy Corporation (�UGE�) to co-own and operate its Bio-refinery in Channahon, Illinois. The Channahon facility is the first Bio-refinery announced in the United States and will have a nameplate capacity of 60 million gallons per year of ASTM 6751, BQ 9000 biodiesel. A Bio-refinery differs from a biodiesel production plant because it has added high tech oleochemical equipment capable of making numerous, high value vegetable oil based products in addition to biodiesel. Under the terms of the deal signed yesterday, EFTI and UGE will form a new business entity. EFTI will then cause the assets associated with the Channahon Bio-refinery to be contributed to the new entity. UGE will acquire up to a 35% interest in the new entity based on meeting certain performance benchmarks. EFTI will retain all other ownership interests. As part of the transaction, UGE contributes 60 million gallons of its multi-million gallon, ten year Master Off-Take Agreement with an AA Credit rated fuel distributor. This combination achieves an industry first and the dream of industry analysts: long term, reliable feedstock supply (through EFTI�s 15 year Feedstock Supply Agreement with an IOI Group company) coupled with a long term, guaranteed buyer for all the biodiesel the Channahon Bio-refinery can produce. UGE had many offers to co-venture a biodiesel project in Illinois. UGE president Thomas M. Campone explained why UGE decided to partner with EFTI at Channahon. �EFTI holds the trump card for low cost biodiesel in the mid-west market. When you look at a start-up, capital cost is critical. At Channahon, EFTI has leased a virtually complete oleochemical manufacturing facility with basic permits in place. Therefore, our Capital expenditures to achieve 60 million gallons in capacity will not exceed $.25 per annualized gallon. That totals about $15 million. Build-out can be achieved without delays at Channahon and we should be producing in the fourth quarter of 2007. Comparable sized competitors have publicly announced four to five times our needed capital investment to achieve the same production levels. Their build-outs are announced to take a year or more. America�s Renewable Energy, LLC has estimated a $1.28 per annualized gallon, or a $77 million investment for their 60 million gallon biodiesel plant in Quincy, Illinois. Renewable Energy Group has projected its proposed mid-west 60 million gallon plants will cost $1.17-$1.37 per annualized gallon or up to $82 million per plant. And, these are pure play biodiesel plants, not a bio-refinery capable of multiple income streams from additional high value products we can make at Channahon. These products are possible because Channahon has on site distillation columns, crystallizers, massive evaporation capacity and other highly specialized processing equipment not typically found in a greenfield biodiesel plant. We have every expectation that by the end of 2008, Channahon will be operating with annualized product sales of $175,000,000.� Mr. Campone previously served as the President and COO of Indeck Energy Services, Inc and was responsible for the construction of 13 ethanol plants totaling 600 million gallons of production capacity in the mid-west. He grew Indeck from $33 million to $450 million in asset base. He left Indeck to join UGE earlier this year. Under the EFTI-UGE deal, Mr. Campone will serve as the CEO of the venture company and will be responsible for all development, construction and operations of the Channahon bio-refinery. EFTI chairman John Stanton stated, �All EFTI shareholders should be excited about UGE�s participation in Channahon. UGE brings more than off-take; they bring to our Channahon Bio-Refinery a seasoned and extremely successful biofuels management and commercial development team with substantial operations experience. UGE is also making financial and technology contributions to the project. We welcome UGE to the EFTI family.� Further details of the EFTI � UGE transaction will be posted shortly on EFTI�s website www.earthfirsttech.com EFTI will introduce Thomas Campone and other members of the Ultra Green team and entertain questions and answers about the Channahon Bio-refinery at a live webcast to be held in the next two weeks. Investors are cautioned that certain statements contained in this document as well as some statements in periodic press releases and some oral statements of EarthFirst Technologies, Inc. officials are "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). Forward-Looking statements include statements which are predictive in nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, which include words such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "expects," and similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance (including future revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future EarthFirst Technologies, Inc. actions, which may be provided by management, are also forward-looking statements as defined by the Act. Forward-Looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and to vary significantly from reporting period to reporting period. Although management believes that the assumptions will, in fact, prove to be correct or that actual future results will not be different from the expectations expressed in this report. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and EarthFirst Technologies, Inc. has no specific intention to update these statements.