Seville, May 9, 2006 – This afternoon, the Focus-Abengoa Foundation, together with F.O. Licht, inaugurates, at 16 hours, the fifth edition of the international conference entitled “World Biofuels 2006” in the Foundation’s Hospital de los Venerables headquarters. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by Isabel de Haro, Secretary General for Industrial and Energy Development of the Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Innovation, Science and Enterprise, Jorgen Henningsen, chief adviser of the European Commission’s Directorate General of Transport and Energy, Javier Benjumea, chairman of both the Focus-Abengoa Foundation and Abengoa itself, Javier Salgado, chairman of Abengoa Bioenergy, and Christoph Berg, assistant-manager of F.O. Licht.

The world biofuels industry continues to grow at a rapid rate, with climate change back on the political agenda, investment pouring into the sector and sensitivity to issues of energy security more acute than ever before. The challenge which now faces biodiesel and bioethanol producers is to move forward and take a share of the mainstream fuels market.

F.O. Licht’s 5th annual World Biofuels conference analyses how the market increases promised by governments in Europe and the rest of the world can be made a reality. Bringing together senior executives from government, biofuels producers, car manufacturers and oil companies, this conference will once again provide a high level forum for leaders in this dynamic industry.

After the opening session, speakers will analyze today the situation in already consolidated Biofuel markets in the world, paying special attention to the European, North American and Brazilian markets.

The second day of this conference cycle will be focused on the development of the massive consumer market of Biofuels in Europe and the required legislation to fulfill the goals for Biofuels in the member States of the European Union. For that purpose, the different players of this industry have been summoned: a representation of the EU, national and international Biofuel associations, Biofuel producers, fuel distributors, automobile industry and, to round off, the success of Biofuels in Sweden will be highlighted.

In a second session, the evolution of Biofuels outside Europe will be analyzed: Brazil, Philippines, Turkey, and Ukraine.

The third and last conference day will be closed with a discussion on how to maintain the growth in the Biofuels industry and the latest technological advances. As an example, the Research & Development Program of Abengoa Bioingenieria.

This cycle is one of the activities developed by the Thinking Forum on the Environment and Sustainable Development that, through the Focus-Abengoa Foundation, has been set up with the main objective of it being a valid tool for reflection and action at the highest level that promotes knowledge of, and the creation of public opinion on these matters.

By making itself strongly felt in the triple objective of economic, social and environmental development that defines Sustainable Development, this Forum promoted by the Focus-Abengoa Foundation focuses mainly on the fields in which, upon them being an objective of its business activity, Abengoa can make important contributions in the different areas of international, industrial, technological relations or of any other kind.

The Focus-Abengoa Foundation was established in 1982 with the objective of developing activities that would benefit society. Since 1991, the year in which it occupied its actual headquarters, it has become a center in which the arts and science are promoted and where the cultural heritage of Seville is developed.

Abengoa Bioenergy is Europe’s leading bioethanol for biofuels producer and currently operates two bioethanol facilities in Spain, Ecocarburantes Españoles and Bioetanol Galicia, with an overall installed capacity of 150 and 170 million liters per year, respectively. Moreover, together with Ebro Puleva, it has recently brought a third 200 million liter capacity facility into operation, in Salamanca, Biocarburantes de Castilla y Leon. Five million liters thereof will be obtained through cereal biomass conversion employing a new technology Abengoa Bioenergy R&D is developing. Abengoa Bioenergy is also the fifth producer in the United States with an installed capacity of 365 million liters. Production in the United States is corn-based, which means the company possesses the experience and technology required for the cereal to bioethanol process.