Automotive OLEDs: introduction and industry news - Page 27

In January 2016 Audi said that the 2016 Audi TT RS coupe, a high-end serially produced car, will use OLED taillights, and the company now finally unveiled the new car - indeed with an OLED taillight.

Audi touts the OLED lights and the 5-cylinder 2.5-liter engine as the main highlights of the TT RS. The new engine, made from aluminium, produces a total of 395 hp and 480 Nm of peak torque. The Audi TT RS Coupé completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 3.7 seconds.

Taiwan's ITRI showcased over 30 new OLED lighting lamp designs, it co-developed with the Taiwan Lighting Fixture Export Association (TLFEA). ITRI also demonstrated a new automotive OLED lighting prototype it co-developed with Ta Yih, which you can see below.

ITRI is reportedly building a Roll-to-Roll (R2R) R&D pilot line to produce flexible OLED lighting panels on flexible glass substrates. The line will be operative by 2017, and will be able to produce about 700 panels per month.

In January 2016 Audi said that the 2016 Audi TT RS coupe, a high-end serially produced car, will use OLED taillights. Last week during the LOPEC 2016 conference Audi's project manager for innovation projects Werner Thomas said that the company is still on track to deliver consumer vehicles with OLED lighting in 2016

If Audi holds true to its word, the 2016 TT RS will be the first serial-produced car with OLED lighting. In September 2015 BMW announced that they are starting to produce the M4 GTS at very limited quantities - and this car has OLED lighting too. But only 700 such cars will be produced.

Back in 2012 LG Chem started discussing a Gen-5 OLED lighting fab, but that plan did not materialize. In late 2015 LG Display acquired LG Chem's OLED lighting business and the plans for the Gen-5 fab re-emerged.

Today LG Display announced that it will go ahead with the plans and invest in a Gen-5 (1000x1200 mm) OLED lighting fab that will be located in Gumi, South Korea. The initial capacity will be 15,000 monthly substrates, and LG will increase capacity depending on market reception. Mass production in the new fab is expected by the first half of 2017.

OSRAM is mostly focused on OLED for the automotive market, and the company recently announced a five-year strategic plan that includes a €2 billion investment in current and future lighting applications - which includes OLEDs for the automotive market. The company released this new videos showing a new flexible OLED based concept:

OSRAM says that their automotive OLED lighting panels will enter mass production in early 2016. OSRAM is the OLED supplier of BMW's M4 GTS taillights. The M4 GTS will enter limited-edition (700 units) production and may be considered the first commercial car with OLED lighting.

According to a report from Korea, Mercedes signed an agreement with LG Display to supply its 12.3" FHD flexible pOLED displays for a future E-Class automobile. The dashboard of the upcoming car will use two such displays, side by side - one showing the instrument cluster and the other information such as navigation.

Yonhap news says that LGD aims to become the world's largest automotive display provider. LG Display wants to gain a 30% market share and reach $2 billion in yearly sales from this market. LGD already supply LCDs to this market, but the Korean maker expects flexible OLEDs to "fast replace the currently available glass-made LCD panels".

Today we published new versions of all our market reports - that cover the transparent, automotive, microdisplay and flexible OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to March 2016.

The Flexible OLED Market Report:

• Why flexible displays and lighting panels are so exciting
• What kind of flexible displays are currently on the market
• What the future holds for flexible OLEDs
• How to acquire flexible OLEDs for your products

The report package provides a good introduction to the flexible OLED market - present and future. It details both flexible displays and lighting technologies. Read more here!

The EU launched a new project, called, PI-SCALE, that aims to create a European-wide pilot line which will enable companies of all sizes to quickly and cost effectively test and scale up their flexible OLED lighting concepts and turn them into market ready products.

PI-SCALE will offer world class capability and services in the pilot production of customized flexible OLEDs and initially focuses on product streams in the areas of automotive, designer luminaires and aeronautics applications. The pilot line will be available during and after the lifetime of the project to companies on an open access basis, and the specialist infrastructure will include all the steps required to turn OLED lighting concepts into manufactured products.

Universal Display announced that it signed a collaboration and evaluation agreement with OSRAM. OSRAM will begin to sample UDC's PHOLED OLED materials for OLED lighting applications.

OSRAM is mostly focused on OLED for the automotive market, and the company recently announced a five-year strategic plan that includes a €2 billion investment in current and future lighting applications - which includes OLEDs for the automotive market. The company's CEO considers OLED important for some niches, but too expensive for general lighting.

A few months ago, OSRAM announced a new five-year strategic plan that includes a €2 billion investment in current and future lighting applications - which includes OLEDs for the automotive market. Last week the company's CEO, Olaf Berlien, said that while OLED is an important technology for some niches (like automotive lighting), it is "definitely" too expensive for general lighting.

Olaf says that Osram will indeed invest in OLED lighting technology, but not for general lighting. He does not expect OLEDs to be ready for the general lighting market anytime soon.