LANXESS Selects Freeslate's High Throughput System To Accelerate Polyolefin Innovation

Freeslate expands its installed base with polyolefin market leaders

Sunnyvale, CA/Geleen - Freeslate, Inc., the leading provider of high throughput research solutions, today announced that LANXESS has selected Freeslate’s products for polymer synthesis and characterization to amplify their research and development efforts in the area of polyolefins. LANXESS will implement this state-of-the-art technology to accelerate their strategic focus on innovations for the polyolefins market.

“We are committed to being a leader in polyolefin innovation by both responding to the increasing demand for novel polyolefin properties and optimizing existing production processes,” said Herman Dikland, Vice President of Global R&D at LANXESS Elastomers. “Freeslate’s proven, industry-leading high throughput system will increase the pace of our development, allowing us to bring better products to market faster.”

“LANXESS is an established leader in the industry and seeks to grow their premium business through innovation,” said John S. Senaldi, President and CEO of Freeslate. “We are very excited to partner with LANXESS to help enable their commercial growth. We see this partnership as another testimony of the value high throughput research affords polyolefin development.”

Implementation of the Freeslate system will begin in early 2013 with the installation of the Parallel Pressure Reactor (PPR) and adoption of the Polyolefin Analytical Workflow. The PPR, which facilitates up to 48 experiments per run, is designed for the screening, discovery, and optimization of catalysts under realistic process conditions. Supporting the PPR is the Polyolefin Analytical Workflow which allows for the assessment of key polymer properties. Lastly, a solution for high throughput catalyst and ligand synthesis based on Freeslate’s Core Module 3 (CM3) automation platform will also be implemented. Combined, the three systems can accelerate the entire polyolefin research cycle and will enable LANXESS researchers to make dramatic gains in productivity and innovation.

LANXESS is the world's leading supplier of EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) following the successful acquisition and integration of DSM Elastomers in 2011. It markets its products under the brand name Keltan. LANXESS already operates EPDM production sites in Geleen, the Netherlands, Marl, Germany, Orange, USA, and Triunfo, Brazil, with a combined capacity of 320,000 metric tons per annum.

LANXESS is building the world’s largest plant for EPDM synthetic rubber in China. The German specialty chemicals company is investing EUR 235 million in the plant in Changzhou (Jiangsu Province). This is the largest investment the company has made in China to date. The plant will have a capacity of 160,000 metric tons per year and the investment will create up to 200 new jobs. The plant is expected to start up 2015.

Sustainable Keltan ACE technology
LANXESS will use Keltan ACE technology to enable sustainable production at its new plant and plans to convert 50 percent of its total production capacity at the Geleen site to Keltan ACE technology in 2013. In comparison to conventional technology, the Keltan ACE catalyst technology reduces energy requirements for production and it does not require catalyst extraction as a result of high catalyst efficiency. Furthermore, the process enables the manufacture of new EPDM rubber grades, such as oil-extended EPDM and special high molecular weight EPDM. The new plant will produce in total ten premium grades of EPDM tailored to Chinese customer needs.

About Freeslate
Freeslate is a privately held company that provides products and related services for high throughput research. Based on its proprietary laboratory automation platforms, high throughput pressure reactors, and integrated Lab Execution and Analysis (LEA) software suite, the company enables dramatic gains in its customers’ productivity and innovation by delivering seamlessly integrated automation solutions. Freeslate leverages its scientific expertise through its team of Ph.D. scientists, engineers, and software developers with directly relevant experience in the industries it serves. Collaborating with customers for more than a decade, the business has provided high throughput research solutions for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and energy industries. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with direct sales and service in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.freeslate.com.

About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.8 billion in 2011 and currently around 16,900 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 48 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is a member of the leading sustainable indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World and FTSE4Good.
Geleen, October 9, 2012

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG 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. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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