Kronberg and Zwingenberg, Germany, June 26, 2008 --- Nutrinova GmbH, a global food ingredients supplier and a business of Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), and BRAIN AG, a leading European “white” biotech company, announced today that they have identified all-natural compounds for high intensity sweeteners and sweetness enhancers.

“We have been engaged in a systematic search process to find potent high intensity sweeteners and sweetness enhancers, using proprietary natural compound libraries,” said Eckart von Haefen, president of Nutrinova. “We are now in a position to further evaluate the new substances and consider their development for market readiness.”

Nutrinova and BRAIN began their exclusive strategic collaboration in 2004 to develop natural sweetener and enhancer products. Since then, the companies have conducted extensive molecular screening programs, focusing on natural compounds derived from plant and microbial extracts.

“Health and wellness trends will continue to be a major market driver for our industry, and demand for reduced-calorie and pleasant-tasting products will continue to increase,” von Haefen said. “Successful development and market introduction of a natural sweetener that fulfills the quality and taste expectations of global food and beverage manufacturers would result in a significant expansion of the greater than $1 billion global high intensity sweetener market and would offer Nutrinova attractive growth opportunities,” he said.

 “The strategic cooperation with Nutrinova has led to promising biological compounds, which were only accessible by advanced molecular screening methods,” said Dr. Holger Zinke, CEO of BRAIN AG. “Joining forces to leverage our complementary expertise has resulted in successful progress and exciting commercial options. This is a good example of a truly modern, ‘open innovation’ R&D partnership.”

Patent applications have been filed for the screening technologies and the compounds for natural high intensity sweeteners and sweetness enhancers.

Q&A

Q: What is a natural sweetener?
A: Natural sweeteners are substances or compounds that occur naturally in plants, fruits or other natural sources. The structure of a natural sweetener does not change during the production process.

Q: What is “white” biotechnology?
A: White biotechnology is the use of nature’s toolbox for industrial applications, sometimes referred to as industrial biotechnology. White biotechnology serves a variety of different markets, including the chemical, agricultural science, food, animal feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries.

Q: What is the difference between a sweetener and a sweetness enhancer?
A: A sweetener is a sugar substitute with an intensely sweet taste. A sweetness enhancer is used in extremely small quantities to enhance the sweetening power of other sweeteners, such as sugar or fructose.

About Nutrinova
Nutrinova (a business of Celanese) is a leading international supplier of specialty ingredients for the food and beverage industries. The company invented Acesulfame K and markets this high intensity sweetener under the brand name Sunett®. Nutrinova is one of the world's largest producers of potassium sorbate and sorbic acid. With its headquarters in Kronberg (Taunus), Germany and manufacturing in Frankfurt, Germany, Nutrinova is present in all major markets.

www.nutrinova.com; www.celanese.com

About BRAIN
BRAIN is a research and development company which discovers and develops novel bioactive natural compounds and proprietary enzymes for its partners and customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical as well as the food and cosmetics industries. In a unique approach to the discovery and production of new biological compounds and biocatalysts, the company harnesses creative solutions from nature’s untapped biodiversity. Its success is built on its proprietary BioArchive comprising millions of genes, proteins and metabolic pathways from microbial isolates and metagenome libraries. BRAIN was founded in 1993, currently employs 65 highly qualified people and has developed into one of Europe’s leading white (industrial) biotech companies.

www.brain-biotech.de

About Celanese
As a global leader in the chemicals industry, Celanese Corporation makes products essential to everyday living. Our products, found in consumer and industrial applications, are manufactured in North America, Europe and Asia.  Net sales totalled $6.4 billion in 2007, with over 70% generated outside of North America.  Known for operational excellence and execution of its business strategies, Celanese delivers value to customers around the globe with innovations and best-in-class technologies.  Based in Dallas, Texas, the company employs approximately 8,400 employees worldwide. For more information on Celanese Corporation, please visit the company's website at www.celanese.com.