ExxonMobil Chemical Highlights Technology at Advanced Automotive Battery Conference

HOUSTON--May 17, 2006--ExxonMobil Chemical is presenting its polymer technology capability at the sixth International Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor Conference in Baltimore May 15, 2006-19, 2006.

The company is presenting a technical paper jointly with its affiliate in Japan, Tonen Chemical Corporation, on prototype microporous film for lithium ion battery (LIB) separators that is expected to dramatically improve LIB power and safety performance in hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) applications.

The film offers the potential to make HEV batteries lighter weight and smaller, thereby contributing to HEV system cost reduction and to improvements in design flexibility and durability.

The technical paper "Battery Separators for HEV Application" shares preliminary findings of ExxonMobil Chemical's and Tonen Chemical's current LIB separator development activity, as well as expected improvements from next-generation LIB separator development efforts.

In April, ExxonMobil Chemical and Tonen Chemical announced increased production capacity at the Nasu Plant in Japan to satisfy strong demand and high growth in the lithium ion battery separator market.

"The added film lines at the Nasu production facilities enable us to pursue potential demand growth for customers developing new-generation lithium ion batteries for hybrid vehicles," said Jim Harris, Polymers senior vice president, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

ExxonMobil Chemical is a global leader in technology, product quality and customer service, with petrochemical manufacturing and/or marketing operations in more than 150 countries around the world.

Tonen Chemical Corporation is a leading supplier of separators for lithium ion batteries. The company's product was adopted for the world's first commercial lithium ion battery in 1991.