Sumitomo Chemical Joins Holst Centre OLED Research Program

OLEDs are revolutionary large-area light sources that could cut lighting-related energy use by 50-90% and enable unique lighting applications. They are manufactured by depositing numerous thin layers of materials onto glass substrates or flexible plastic foils. Today's highest-efficiency OLEDs are made using evaporative processes in vacuum conditions. Switching to atmospheric-pressure solution-based processes could reduce the cost of OLED manufacturing by removing the need for expensive vacuum equipment and reducing the wastage of costly OLED materials.

Developing these solution-based processes is a key goal for Holst Centre's Printed Organic Lighting and Signage program. Sumitomo Chemical’s participation will give program members access to high-end OLED materials, particularly for the active (light-emitting) layers. At the same time, Sumitomo Chemical will be able to draw on the program's vast expertise to optimize its materials for low-cost production and flexible substrates.

"We are very pleased to be working with Sumitomo Chemical. Their expertise and high-end OLED materials will help us develop solution-processed OLEDs that match the efficiency of today's highest-performing devices but at lower manufacturing costs," said Ton van Mol, Partnership Director at Holst Centre.

"Holst Centre is a leading research center for flexible electronics, and one of the few working on solution processing for OLEDs. Its unique infrastructure and many partners across the OLED lighting community will help us tailor our materials to better meet the needs of the lighting industry," said Ikuzo Ogawa, Managing Executive Officer at Sumitomo Chemical.

About Sumitomo Chemical:
Sumitomo Chemical was established in 1913 to manufacture fertilizers from sulfur dioxide emitted from smelting operations at the Besshi copper mine in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, with the aim of solving environmental problems caused by the emissions.
“We must not merely seek business profits but must contribute broadly to society through our business activities.” — Sumitomo Chemical, founded with the dual goals of eliminating pollution and helping increase crop yields, has upheld this founding principle as it has evolved in keeping with the changing times.
At present, the Sumitomo Chemical Group, including over 100 subsidiaries and affiliates, operates businesses in five sectors - basic chemicals, petrochemicals, IT-related chemicals, health & crop sciences, and pharmaceuticals - and provides products worldwide that support a wide variety of industries and help people’s daily lives. Visit us at http://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/

We believe that Organic EL lighting can create new value in the future by shedding ‘completely new light’ to the life with energy-saving and comfort.

About Holst Centre:
Holst Centre is an independent open-innovation R&D centre that develops generic technologies for wireless autonomous sensor technologies and for flexible electronics. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia around shared roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs. Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research.
Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from, and contributes to, the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 180 research staff from 28 nationalities and a commitment from close to 40 industrial partners.
Visit us at www.holstcentre.com