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Abstract:
Preview presentation of two new Baytubes®-products at the JEC Composites
Show in Paris

Bayer MaterialScience and Nanoledge join forces

Paris / Leverkusen | Posted on April 3rd, 2007

During the JEC Composites Show, taking place from
April 3rd to April 5th in Paris, Bayer MaterialScience, one of the world's
leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics and Nanoledge,
the European leader in the design of industrial standard nanotube-based
materials, introduced two innovative Nanotechnology applications in preview
to the public: A surfboard and skis.

In line with this year's motto of the JEC Composites Show "Together,
composing the future of composites", Bayer MaterialScience and Nanoledge,
both experts in their respective fields, teamed up to create these new and
improved sports applications. Nanoledge's "NANO IN®" technology combined
with Bayer MaterialScience's high performance Carbon Nanotubes Baytubes®
were the key to success: Refined with Baytubes®, the specific epoxy resin
achieves extraordinary and never equalized mechanical and thermal
properties in the resulting composite. Not only are the end products by far
lighter and more resistant, their life cycle is also extended. "Working
with Bayer MaterialScience for the realization of these applications has
been a real opportunity for Nanoledge. The exceptional technical properties
of Bayer MaterialScience's Baytubes® contribute intrinsically to the
improvement of these sporting goods' performances," said Franck Bennardi,
CEO of Nanoledge.

Unique through their structure and their shape, Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)
feature outstanding properties: They might only have a quarter of the mass
of steel, but they are 5 times stronger when subjected to mechanical loads.
In addition, their electrical conductivity is equivalent to that of cooper
and their thermal conductivity is very high. Therefore, when they are
filled in an epoxy resin, the composite becomes 50% more solid and 50 to
100% more resistant. No wonder epoxy is gaining traction with surfboard
makers - after all, surfers all over the world are looking for a board that
has the proper flexural response, low weight, and durability, altogether
enabling them to catch their perfect surf breaks.

Originally made of solid wood and up to 12 feet long and up to 45 kg heavy,
most modern surfboards are made of polyurethane/polyester systems. The new
surfboard was co-developed by Nanoledge and California-based sporting goods
company Entropy Research Labs (ERL) that develops and applies exotic
materials into high-end, performance action sports equipment. Their testing
grounds for the new product: Heavy Ocean Beach, San Francisco. "No
surfboard is indestructible, but you can make it last longer", Desi Banatao
from ERL explained. "Surfboards will undergo a major shift in both material
systems and construction in the next 5 to 10 years. In terms of the
materials systems epoxies are definitely going to play a huge role in how
it plays out, and if CNTs can deliver in making these epoxies better, then
they could potentially have a huge effect."

The skis containing Baytubes® resulted from a partnership between Nanoledge
and Axunn. Located in Chamrousse, France, Axunn develops and commercializes
new concepts for sports equipments, featuring innovative technology,
design, and comfort. These skis containing Nanoledge's product NANO IN RES
are more solid, and more resistant to shocks.

"One of our main objectives is the close cooperation with our customers. We
share our product know-how with our customers, thereby supporting them in
developing new, interesting applications", explains Martin Schmid, who is
responsible for the expansion of the global Baytubes® business at Bayer
MaterialScience. "We are very pleased to be able to present two new sports
applications that are enriched with our Baytubes®. This shows that Carbon
Nanotubes are a very promising product with enormous potential for a wide
variety of future applications, ranging from lighter, longer and thus more
efficient rotor blades for wind turbine plants to the automotive industry,
where the use of Baytubes® in plastics can avoid the need for expensive
production steps by eliminating conductive primers."

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About Bayer MaterialScience
With 2006 sales of 10.161 billion euros (continuing operations), Bayer
MaterialScience AG 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 the sports and leisure industries. At the end
of 2006, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed
approximately 14,900 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a
Bayer Group company.

About Nanoledge:
Founded in 2001 as a spin-out company of CNRS (National Center for
Scientific Research), Nanoledge is a nanotechnology provider delivering
industrial products for the Composite Industry and specializing in
commercial Sporting Goods applications. Its "NANO IN®" product line enables
the design and development of high-performance and multi-functional
composites (based on Carbon Nanotubes filled resins). "NANO IN®" integrated
Carbon Nanotubes create and improve the strength, toughness, flexibility
and conductivity of Composite Materials.

Nanoledge’s core competencies are:

1 - Functionalization, Compatibilization, Dispersion and Integration of
Carbon Nanotubes (Nanotechnology expertise),
2 - Carbon Nanotubes filled resin formulations (Resins expertise),
3 - High-Performance Composite Materials Processing (Composites expertise).

http://www.nanoledge.com

More news and information about products, applications and services of
Bayer MaterialScience can be found at http://www.bayerbms.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current
assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group 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 our public reports filed with the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability
whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to
future events or developments.