Xethanol Corporation Acquires Advanced Bioethanol Technologies, Inc.; Acquisition Transfers Licensed Technology to Generate Biofuel from Biomass.

NEW YORK & PLANT CITY, Fla. -- Xethanol Corporation, a bioethanol production company, and UTEK Corporation (AMEX:UTK), an innovative technology transfer company, announced today that Xethanol Corporation has acquired Advanced Bioethanol Technologies, Inc. (ABTI), a wholly owned subsidiary of UTEK Corporation, in a stock transaction.

ABTI holds the worldwide exclusive license to a new biomass fermentation process developed by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The technology can be used to convert waste biomass mixtures to ethanol and other co-products by exploiting the unique properties of the feedstock to solve current processing problems. Ethanol is a federally mandated, clean-burning, renewable fuel that is used as an oxygenate in 10% gasoline blends and an octane enhancer to improve vehicle performance. We believe ethanol is important to U.S. energy self sufficiency as 23.8 gallons of ethanol can replace one barrel of imported oil.

According to Christopher d'Arnaud-Taylor, President and CEO of Xethanol Corporation, "We believe that this acquisition for bioethanol production from cellulosic biomass feedstocks will be synergistic with our current methods for processing multiple waste streams into ethanol and other valuable co-products. We look forward to deploying this important process technology at our Biomass Technology Center in Iowa."

"We are very enthusiastic about working with Xethanol Corporation as they help to develop and commercialize our new fermentation technology. We believe that this method to utilize biomass mixtures is an excellent approach to generating valuable products from waste biomass," said Mike Martin, Executive Vice President at Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.

"UTEK is pleased to consummate this technology transfer with Xethanol Corporation and we look forward to continuing our efforts to identify additional technology acquisition opportunities for their consideration," commented Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of UTEK.

About Xethanol Corporation

Xethanol Corporation seeks to become a leader in the emerging cellulosic biomass-to-ethanol industry. Their mission is to convert biomass that is currently being abandoned or land filled into ethanol and other valuable co-products. Xethanol's strategy is to deploy proprietary technologies that will extract and ferment the sugars trapped in these biomass concentrations. Xethanol's value proposition is to produce ethanol and valuable co-products more cost effectively than corn based ethanol processors with plants located closer to ethanol consuming markets. Xethanol owns and operates an ethanol production facility in Iowa that processes fermentable sugars derived from food biomass as its primary feedstock.

About Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc. (VTIP) was established in 1985 as a university affiliated, non-profit, private corporation. VTIP handles, protects, and licenses technologies developed by the faculty, staff, and students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. For more information about Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., please visit their website at http://www.vtip.org.

About UTEK Corporation

UTEK is the first market-driven technology transfer company that enables public companies to rapidly acquire innovative technologies from universities and research laboratories. We are the only company that facilitates the identification and acquisition of external technologies for clients in exchange for their equity securities, while allowing research institutions to receive 100% of the royalties. We call this process U2B(R). We seek to transfer proprietary technologies to create product differentiation, resulting in a strategic marketplace advantage. For more information about UTEK, please visit its website at http://www.utekcorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as UTEK or Xethanol "expect," "anticipate" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe UTEK's or Xethanol's future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the financial performance of UTEK or Xethanol, as appropriate, and market valuations of their stock, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Although UTEK and Xethanol, as appropriate, believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, they can give no assurance that their expectations will be attained. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and neither UTEK nor Xethanol, as appropriate, undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

UTEK's operating results could fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors. These factors include the small number of transactions that are completed each quarter, the value of individual transactions, the timing of the recognition and the magnitude of unrealized gains and losses, UTEK's dependence on the performance of companies in its portfolio, the possibility that advances in technology could render the technologies it has transferred obsolete, the loss of technology licenses by companies in its portfolio, the degree to which it encounters competition in its markets, the volatility of the stock market and the volatility of the valuations of the companies it has invested in as it relates to its realized and unrealized gains and losses, the concentration of investments in a small number of companies, as well as other general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, current results may not be indicative of UTEK's future performance. For more information on UTEK and for a more complete discussion of the risks pertaining to an investment in UTEK, please refer to UTEK's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.