Solutia Introduces New Saflex® S Series Advanced Solar Interlayer for Global Automotive Market

ST. LOUIS and DUSSELDORF, Germany, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Solutia Inc., (NYSE: SOA) the world's leading producer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer for laminated glass, introduced the company's new Saflex® S series advanced solar absorbing interlayer for the global automotive glazing market. The product is being featured this week at the company's booth at Glasstec 2010, held in Dusseldorf, Germany.

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"Global environmental regulations require the automotive industry to meet more stringent CO2 emissions standards as soon as 2012," said Wing Kwang, global automotive business director in Solutia's Advanced Interlayer Division. "Combine that with the growing number of consumers interested in reducing their environmental footprint while maintaining comfort and quality, you have an industry that must look for new solutions to design more efficient vehicles. That's where Saflex S series advanced solar absorbing interlayers can help."

In addition to providing the safety benefits of laminated automotive glazing, Saflex S series advanced solar absorbing interlayer provide an effective solution for HVAC engineers to help control the interior temperature of a vehicle. Reducing the heat that is transmitted through the glazing of a vehicle can reduce the air conditioner load, which in turn improves fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, field evaluation by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the U.S. shows that a 5 degree Celsius reduction in cabin temperature could increase fuel efficiency by 3%.

Saflex S series technology absorbs infrared radiation rather than reflecting it like alternative technologies. These alternate technologies often have to rely on "deletion areas" or removed sections to accommodate electronic devices such as GPS, cell phones, and electronic toll collectors. These removed sections allow electronic devices to operate properly, but can restrict where consumers can use or place electronic devices in their vehicle and could reduce the overall solar efficiency of the glazing. "Saflex S series is more compatible with electronic devices than reflective technologies thereby reducing the need for additional engineering design and added costs," said John Derrico, global product technology lead in the Advanced Interlayers Division.

In addition, Saflex S series solar absorbing interlayer provides a cost effective and high performance solution for hybrid electric and pure electric vehicle applications. By reducing cabin heat, Saflex S series provide automotive designers the opportunity to use smaller, lighter weight air conditioning systems and allow electric vehicles the ability to increase the driving range for each charge. Studies by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) show that reducing the air conditioning load on an electric vehicle (by using a smaller air conditioner or using it less often), drivers can extend their range between 15% and 25% under typical conditions (versus the range with a standard full air conditioning load).

Saflex S series advanced solar absorbing interlayer will be commercially available later this year. Additionally, Saflex S series, in combination with our Saflex Q series acoustic benefits, will be available in early 2011. For additional product information, including product brochures, technical data product offering and samples, please visit: www.saflex.com/solar

NOTE TO EDITORS: Solutia, Solutia and Infinity Logo, Vanceva and Saflex are trademarks of Solutia Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Forward Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or "anticipates," or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about the industries in which Solutia operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or achievements to be materially different from the future results or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risk and uncertainties described in Solutia's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under "Cautionary Statement About Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors", and Solutia's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These reports can be accessed through the "Investors" section of Solutia's website at www.solutia.com . Solutia disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in response to new information, unforeseen events, changed circumstances or any other occurrence.

Corporate Profile

Solutia is a market-leading performance materials and specialty chemicals company. The company focuses on providing solutions for a better life through a range of products, including: Saflex(R) polyvinyl butyral interlayers for glass lamination and for photovoltaic module encapsulation and Vistasolar(R) ethylene vinyl acetate films for photovoltaic module encapsulation; LLumar(R), Vista(TM), EnerLogic(TM), FormulaOne(TM), Gila(R), V-Kool(R), Huper Optik(R), Sun-X(R) and Nanolux(R) aftermarket performance films for automotive and architectural applications; Flexvue(TM) advanced film component solutions for solar and electronic technologies; and technical specialties products including Crystex(R) insoluble sulfur, Santoflex(R) PPD antidegradants, Therminol(R) heat transfer fluids and Skydrol(R) aviation hydraulic fluids. Solutia's businesses are world leaders in each of their market segments. With its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, the company operates globally with approximately 3,400 employees in more than 50 worldwide locations. More information is available at http://www.solutia.com/ .

SOURCE Solutia Inc.