Virent CEO to speak on green business at WARF’s Gilson Discovery Series

Eric Apfelbach, president and CEO of Virent Energy Systems, will present "Building a Business around Green Technology" on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Fluno Center, 601 University Avenue. The event, part of the Gilson Discovery Series sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), is free and open to the public.

The presentation will begin at 5 p.m. with a networking reception to follow from 6 to 7 p.m. in the main lobby. Interested individuals can RSVP to receive complimentary parking by contacting Devon Cournoyer at (608) 890-1621 or dcournoyer@warf.org by Monday, Dec. 3.

During his presentation, Apfelbach will discuss ways in which business, academia and the community can work together to protect the environment. He will discuss Virent’s values as they pertain to sustainability and conservation of natural resources.

Since its inception in 2002, Virent Energy Systems has established itself as a cutting-edge producer of renewable fuels and chemicals. In September, Virent announced that it had secured $21 million in financing to develop processes for converting biomass to gasoline and other liquid fuels, including a plan to use sugar as feedstock to create "green" gasoline.

The Gilson Series is the result of a gift bequeathed in 2002 to WARF by UW–Madison alumnus, professor and inventor Warren Gilson. The series is dedicated to nurturing the exchange of ideas between the university and small businesses, as well as supporting entrepreneurialism.

In 1925, WARF was established as the world’s first university-based technology transfer office. It supports world-class research at UW–Madison by funding research, protecting the intellectual property of university faculty, staff and students, and by licensing inventions resulting from their work to benefit the world.