On February 1, 2010, the US Department of Energy recently announced a $1.6 million grant to PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) for the development of low-cost glass substrates to promote OLED (organic photodiode) lighting technology. And mass production.
The OLED is composed of an organic material that emits light when the current passes instantaneously. As part of the US Department of Energy's funding program, PPG researchers will develop a coated glass substrate that is less expensive than conventional coated glass and more suitable for use in OLED lighting installations, resulting in lower OLED cost. Reduce the purpose of lighting electricity.
Ms. Victoria M. Holt, Senior Vice President, Glass and Fiberglass Business Unit, PPG Industries, said that PPG was selected by the US Department of Energy for its funding expertise due to its expertise in glass, coatings and optics. “The ultimate goal of the US Department of Energy is to reduce lighting costs and energy consumption in the United States,” she said. PPG will combine our existing technologies in glass and coatings with OLED technology to help achieve this goal as quickly as possible.”
Mehran Arbab, director of glass and fiberglass research and technology at PPG Industries, said that PPG has two technologies that are ideal for OLEDs. He explained: “Transparent conductive coatings and optical coatings provide us with a powerful technology platform. Our technologies are serving the solar, aerospace and construction markets. This funding project will enable us to improve these technologies so that More efficient and economical for the manufacture of OLED lighting facilities."
Universal Display Corp. (UDC) will participate in the project as a subcontractor with PPG. UDC has received $4 million to build a small OLED lighting panel manufacturing facility in the United States. In this project, UDC will be responsible for the manufacture, testing and evaluation of OLED devices specifically designed for PPG glass substrates. PPG has been working with UDC for nearly 10 years to jointly develop and commercialize its proprietary phosphorescent OLED materials.
According to the rough statistics of the US Department of Energy, more than 20% of energy in the United States is used for architectural lighting. They expect that the widespread use of LEDs and OLEDs over the next 20 years will save up to 60% in power consumption and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 260 tons.
Traditional incandescent lamps can only generate 15 lumens of light per watt of electricity. Although the fluorescent lamp has good energy-saving effect, it is made of mercury, so it is very harmful to the environment. Moreover, the service life of both is relatively short, and the generated light is also fundamentally different from natural light. OLED lamps are made of organic materials and are very environmentally friendly. With the advancement of technology, every watt of electricity consumed by OLED lamps in the future will produce four times the light energy equivalent to incandescent lamps.
About Universal Display Corp.
Universal Display Corp. is a world leader in the development and sale of innovative OLED technologies and materials for flat panel displays, solid state lighting products, electronic communications and other optoelectronic devices.
About PPG
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, USA, PPG Industries is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass and fiberglass products. PPG currently has more than 140 production sites and affiliates in more than 60 countries around the world. In 2009, the company's global sales reached 12.2 billion US dollars.