Cabot Nanogel® Translucent Aerogel and Alcaud SA Sign Agreement

Frankfurt, Germany and Boston, MA USA (November 7, 2005) Cabot Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement with Alcaud SA of Colombe, France, for the marketing and installation of Nanogel® aerogel filled polycarbonate panels for the French building and construction market.

Cabot and Alcaud will be exhibiting their products during the BATIMAT Salon International de la Construction 2005 from Monday, November 7 to Saturday, November 12 at Porte de Versailles Paris, Hall 1, Stand L89.

Nanogel translucent aerogel is a new superior daylighting material that combines high light transmission with excellent energy efficiency and sound insulation. When used as filler in multiwall glazing panels, Nanogel can boost the inherent insulation properties of the panel material while providing an even diffusion of irradiating daylight, with no glare.

Nanogel is extremely light material with a density ranging from 60-80kg/m3. The material can deliver light transmission up to 32% and has an U-Value of 0.89 (W/m².K) at 25 mm thickness. It is also an effective sound insulator, providing up to 50% acoustic reduction at lower noise frequencies. Good light diffusion without shadows and hot spots are performance benefits of primary importance in sports halls, museums and industrial buildings.

Alcaud is a major manufacturer of rooflights, barrelvaults, smoke extractors, ventilators and canopies as well as conservatory, facing and carport panels in France. For glazing, the company uses only polycarbonate multiwall sheeting.

In the first Nanogel installation project at the Givenchy Perfumes plant in Beauvais, the 30-year old single polyester roof glazing was replaced with 10 mm opal Lexan® Thermoclear® panels filled with Nanogel. According to the customer, the light diffusion in the building created a more pleasant working environment and an atmosphere highly conducive for the presentation of perfume bottles. With a U-value of 1.93 (W/m².K), the thermal insulation of the Nanogel filled rooflights also can create a more consistent interior climate during summer and winter months.

“Industry response to Nanogel underscores the high demand for improved energy efficiency in daylighting applications,” says James Satterwhite, Global Business Manager for the Nanogel Construction Segment at Cabot Corporation. “Traditional glazing products are unable to bring the same level of natural light to indoor environments without exceeding the heat loss or gain limits allowed under increasingly strict building regulations for energy efficiency.”

Alcaud’s Nanogel filled glazing panels were specifically introduced to meet the requirements of France’s new Règlement Thermique 2005. The manufacturer also developed a computer calculation program that helps building owners and contractors to estimate the energy savings potential of new or replacement installations.

“We recently set up our first filling machine for polycarbonate multiwall sheets in Frankfurt, Germany, and are well prepared to meet the growing energy efficiency needs of this market,” Satterwhite said.

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Notes for editors

About Nanogel

Cabot Corporation created Nanogel in part to insulate thermally inefficient glazing systems. The feather-light aerogel is based on Cabot's patented surface modification and fine particle manufacturing technology. The nanoporous particles have an air content of 97% and weigh only

60-80 grams per liter, making Nanogel the lightest solid material in the world. It provides a superior combination of thermal and sound insulation as well as light transmission and diffusion over other insulation materials. These benefits offer new design solutions for architects where both maximum natural daylight levels and energy efficiency are required.

Nanogel is manufactured exclusively by Cabot in Frankfurt, Germany. Visit the website at: www.nanogel.com.

About Cabot Corporation

Cabot Corporation is a global specialty chemicals and materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Cabot's major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, capacitor materials, and cesium formate drilling fluids. The web address is www.cabot-corp.com.

Nanogel is a registered trademark of Cabot Corporation.

Lexan and Thermoclear are trademarks of General Electric Company.