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Wednesday - February 13, 2008

Bayer MaterialScience and Toyota Tsusho conclude distribution agreement for Baytubes®

Sale of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Asian regions

Members from Bayer MaterialScience and Toyota Tsusho at the signing ceremony of the Baytubes® distribution agreement (from left to right, front row): Hideki Yasuki, Toyota Tsusho Deputy Division Officer, Energy & Chemicals Division; Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Engels, Bayer MaterialScience Vice President of Innovation & Business Creation. (Back row, from left to right): Shigeru Okumura, Toyota Tsusho Group Leader, Automotive Materials Department; Masaaki Ito, Toyota Tsusho, Project Manager, Advanced Materials Group; Hatsuhiro Soh, Toyota Tsusho, General Manager Electronics & Performance Materials Department; Takeshi Kubota, Toyota Tsusho Group Leader Advanced Materials Group; Martin Schmid, Bayer MaterialScience, Head of global Baytubes® operations; Dr. Heiko Hocke, Bayer MaterialScience, Head of Baytubes® Business Development; Haruo Kuno, Bayer MaterialScience President and Representative Director for Japan; Dr. Etsuro Matsui, Bayer Ltd. Senior Technical Consultant.

Tokyo, February 13, 2008 – Bayer MaterialScience AG and the Toyota Tsusho Corporation have concluded a distribution agreement for Baytubes®, Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs). In accordance with this agreement, Toyota Tsusho will act as Bayer MaterialScience’s exclusive distributor responsible for the marketing, sales, technical development and support of the Baytubes® business in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Toyota Tsusho brings to the table extensive experience related to high-grade chemical products, market intelligence about Baytubes® markets, market intelligence about the countries and regions mentioned above, sales offices and organization as well as a close link with major Japanese corporations that have a stake in this new technology.

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are regarded as one of the prime examples of nanotechnology. Their unique electrical, mechanical and thermal properties make them suitable for a tremendous variety of applications. Thanks to a newly developed synthesis process, Bayer MaterialScience is one of the few manufacturers able to offer commercially viable quantities of CNTs with a constant and reproducible quality well above the 95 percent mark. In order to meet the increasing demand for MWCNTs, Bayer MaterialScience started up a new production facility in Laufenburg, Germany, in September 2007, thereby expanding their annual capacity from 30 to 60 tons. A new plant in Leverkusen with an annual manufacturing capacity of additional 200 tons of nanotubes is planned by 2009.

Baytubes®, CNTs produced by Bayer MaterialScience, can be used as an additive to significantly modify the properties of various materials. Baytubes® makes plastics conductive and can therefore be used to manufacture antistatic packaging films for computer chips or plastic containers to protect fragile integrated circuits during transportation. The addition of Baytubes® considerably increases the stiffness and resilience of composites: Components such as surfboards and skis made of epoxy resin composite can be designed to be far lighter and stronger in terms of mechanical strength.

“Together with Toyota Tsusho we want to explore new markets and new opportunities for lucrative industrial applications with Baytubes®. With their well-established offices and staff in all of the important markets in Asia, they are an ideal choice as a partner for us. Additionally, their reputation and standing in Japan is expected to contribute considerably to Bayer MaterialScience's objective of becoming a major supplier of high quality MWCNTs in this very important market,” said Martin Schmid, head of the global Baytubes® operations.

About Bayer MaterialScience:
With 2006 sales of EUR 10.2 billion (continuing operations), Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience has 30 production sites around the globe and employed approximately 14,900 people at the end of 2006. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

About Toyota Tsusho:
Nagoya Headquarters: 9-8 Meieki 4-chome, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya 450-8575, Japan
Tokyo Headquarters: 8-1, Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8320, Japan
Representative: Junzo Shimizu, President
Businesses: Domestic trade of various products, import/export transactions, overseas transactions, construction contracting, insurance agency operations, etc.

Find more information at www.bayermaterialscience.com, www.toyota-tsusho.com, and www.baytubes.com.

Hotline for readers’ inquiries:
Fax: +49 221 9902 160

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.