Konica Minolta - Page 5

OLEDNet reports the Konica-Minolta plans to start mass production of flexible OLED lighting panels in 2010. Konica-Minolta is cooperating with GE on manufacturing technology. According to the report, Konica Minolta is using polymer materials and printing technologies. The materials are made by Sumitomo. The lifetime of Konica-Minolta’s products is estimated to be 3,000 hours or more with the brightness of 1,000 cd/m2.

We think that this is a bit optimistic... according to KM's own plans, the first plant is scheduled for March 2011. Just last month they re-iterated their plans to start making the flexible OLEDs in 2011, and we do not think this will qualify as 'mass production'. We also know that KM is using UDC's Small-Molecule Phosphorescent materials, but maybe they are also working with Sumitomo on Polymer based OLEDs.

GE and Konica Minolta announced that they have achieved a "major breakthrough" in their white OLEDs: an efficient 56Lm/w flexible white OLED that is made using solution-coatable materials in a roll-to-roll printing process. The materials have "commercially viable lifetime" (we do not know exactly what they mean by that).

GE and Konica Minolta flexible desk lamp prototype

GE and Konica Minolta plan to introduce their flexible OLED lighting products next year (2011), and have already displayed some early prototype lamps (one of which is shown above). They are working together since 2007. KM hopes to see $1 billion in OLED Lighting sales by 2018. KM has licensed OLED IP from UDC.

Universal Display reported their financial results. For the first quater of 2010, the net loss was $2.9 million, revenues were $4.2 million. The company reprots an increase in revenue (both in commercial OLED sales and development activities) and a decrease in operating costs.

LG Chem white OLED panels

UDC says they are devoting more and more resources into OLED Lighting. We know that they are working with Konika Minolta, and now UDC say that several more companies are using their materials in OLED Lighting prototypes: LG Chem, NEC Lighting, Panasonic (using UDC's red and green materials) and Showa Denko.

NEC Lighting OLED lamp prototype

UDC is currently shipping Red PHOLED materials for customers (mostly Samsung). They are also hoping that these customers will start using their Green materials, which will enable better efficiency on these displays.

GE and Konica Minolta is showing new lamps which use flexible white OLEDs. There are several "configurations" (or designs, really) which include desk lamps and ceiling lamps.We do not have any technical details on those panels yet.

Konica Minolta lays out its OLED Lighting plan:

• Launch OLED lighting equipment by March 2011
• Build a large-scale OLED lighting plant by march 2014
• Get over 100 billion yen (about $1 billion) in sales by 2017/18

The company will spend around 3.5 billion yen ($38 million) to build an initial production line by the end of 2010, in order to launch products by March 2011. The line will use roll-to-roll production method. The mass-production line planned for 2014 will require at least 10 billion yen ($110 million) to build.

Konica Minolta is working towards OLEDs together with GE and UDC.

Konica Minolta is launching an online OLED lighting ad campaign (ads were spotted in CNN video, for example). Konica Minolta is working on Phosphorescent OLED lighting, together with UDC and GE. They have plans to release their first products by 2011. It seems like OLED lighting is heating up (unlike the OLED panels), especially since Philips has started shipping samples, and I guess KM also wants to make an early impact, and hopefully we'll hear more from them soon. Perhaps they also plan an "early launch" of samples, like Philips.

KM says that OLED lighting will "change our world", it's the biggest invention in lighting since Edison, and focus on the environmental bonuses and design possibilities. KM also seems to working on flexible or curved OLEDs, or at least they list these as some of OLED's advantages.

Curvlinear OLED lighting vessel concept

They also sponsor several artists, envisioning the future of OLED lighting. Currently there's just one concept from Seifert Stoeckmann, with their "curvilinear light vessel" concept, seen above (more photos and explanation available at KM's site). Their idea is to enable gently curving objects - which might be small "palm" sized objects to giant UFO-like outdoor pieces (shown above).

For the third quarter of 2008, Universal Display reported a net loss of $5,302,983, or $(0.15) per diluted share, versus a net loss of $2,960,565, or $(0.08) per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2007.

Commercial revenue remained constant during the third quarter of 2008 when compared with the same quarter of 2007, and increased for the first nine months of 2008 versus the same period in 2007. We are encouraged by the continued adoption of and new opportunities for our UniversalPHOLED technology, said Mr. Rosenblatt. While Samsung SDI’s production capacity remained on level with the same quarter of 2007, they reported that their AMOLED displays are being increasingly integrated into mobile devices like cell phones and MP3 players. In addition, Samsung SDI has showcased recent product prototypes for AMOLED televisions and larger area displays, flexible OLED screens, and more. It is clear they are committed to AMOLED display production both financially and developmentally.

Konica Minolta and Universal Display Corporation today announced the signing of an OLED Technology License Agreement. Under the agreement, Konica Minolta will be able to integrate Universal Display's proprietary OLED technologies into Konica Minolta's white OLED lighting products, thus securing Konica Minolta to accelerate commercialization and to strengthen the competitiveness of its white OLEDs.

"We have been collaborating successfully with Universal Display in the OLED development for several years, and we are very much pleased that we have entered into the OLED Technology License Agreement with Universal Display today" stated Masatoshi Matsuzaki, Chief Technology Officer of Konica Minolta Holdings.

Konica Minolta plans to launch the OLED lighting equipment by early 2011, Senior Executive Officer Shoei Yamana told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo.

Konica Minolta has tied up with GE to jointly develop flexible and thin lighting products using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. Konica Minolta said it would aim to release a product within three years, most likely using the GE brand.

Company spokeswoman Yuko Ogiso said Konica and GE would develop devices that are thin and can be bent to fit curved surfaces, aiming to offer a new category of lighting while cultivating the business into a new driver of earnings growth. Ogiso said the company did not have any concrete profit or sales forecasts for the OLED business.