Volkswagen Aligns with Model Fuels Consortium-II

German automaker joins Reaction Design to focus on diesel and gasoline combustion

SAN DIEGO, December 1 - After a careful evaluation, Volkswagen (Ticker: VOWG) has become the
first German automaker to join the esteemed Model Fuels Consortium II
(MFC-II). The initial phase of the Model Fuels Consortium was launched four
years ago by Reaction Design, the clean technology chemistry leader, to
enable the design of cleaner-burning, more-efficient engines and fuels.
Volkswagen is particularly interested in the Consortium's focus on modeling
the combustion of both traditional fuels and potential next generation blends
with accurate chemistry.

"Increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions have become the
driving forces in the automobile industry," stated Axel Winkler, head of the
CFD-division at Volkswagen Group Powertrain Research. "The accomplishments of
the first phase of the MFC caused us to broaden our tool landscape and
strategies we were putting in place for research. At first, we were skeptical
that Reaction Design's MFC-II would provide a meaningful completion to our
technical roadmap, but once we had the opportunity to evaluate extensively
the comprehensive solutions being developed by the group, it was clear to us
that MFC-II was worth the investment. We view our membership as a valuable
resource in our ongoing efforts to develop highly efficient and innovative
engine designs."

"The time and intensity of Volkswagen's evaluation into MFC-II's value
and their subsequent membership are a testament to the impact MFC-II is
having on improving engine efficiency and emissions performance," stated
Bernie Rosenthal, CEO of Reaction Design. "We are continuing to add to and
refine our Model Fuel Chemical Mechanism Database, which is now the most
comprehensive available, in addition to making significant strides in the
modeling of soot formation."

The members of MFC-II recently gathered to review progress toward the
Consortium's three main goals:

    - Development of detailed chemical mechanisms for new fuel components
      that allow representation of a broader set of fuels and more accurate
      prediction of fuel emissions characteristics
    - Development of a science-based, fundamental model of soot-particle
      growth from gas-phase precursors, including particle nucleation,
      growth, aging (deactivation), oxidation and agglomeration, providing
      prediction of particle size and number distributions as fuel and engine
      conditions vary
    - Expanded capability to connect detailed kinetics with multidimensional
      engine simulation.

Chemical reaction mechanisms for two new cycloparaffins were completed as
part of this year's MFC-II work: cyclohexane and decalin. These represent
important additions, since there are significant quantities of cycloparaffins
in conventional fuels and even higher quantities in fuels under development,
such as those derived from oil sands. In model fuels, representing these
components is important to capturing ignition quality and soot emissions.

Reaction Design researchers also made significant advances in simulation
capabilities including dramatic speed-up in the coupling of chemistry with
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) flow simulations and advanced automated
mechanism reduction. In addition, fundamental experimental data was reported
from a University of Southern California (USC) facility, under contract to
the MFC-II, including measurements of the fuel-dependence of soot
particle-size distribution functions under controlled combustion conditions.
This unique set of data allows the development of a comprehensive model for
predicting soot formation with different fuel blends.

Current members of the Consortium include ConocoPhillips, l'Institut
Francais du Petrol (IFP), Mazda, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, PSA Peugeot
Citroen, Saudi Aramco, Suzuki, Toyota and VW.

About Reaction Design

Reaction Design, a San Diego-based software supplier, enables
transportation manufacturers and energy companies to rapidly achieve their
Clean Technology goals by automating the analysis of chemical processes via
computer simulation and modeling solutions. Reaction Design is the exclusive
developer and distributor of CHEMKIN, the de facto standard for modeling
gas-phase and surface chemistry that provides engineers ultra-fast access to
reliable answers that save time and money in the Development process.
Reaction Design's world-class engineers, chemists and programmers have
expertise that spans multi-scale engineering from the molecule to the
production plant. Reaction Design serves more than 350 customers in the
commercial, government and academic markets.

Reaction Design can be found online at www.reactiondesign.com.

Verly Flores of Reaction Design, +1-858-550-1920; or Barry Katcher of McClenahan Bruer Communications, +1-503-543-1003, barry at mcbru.com, for Reaction Design