OLEDWorks - Page 5

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced 13 new grants for building technology projects that promise to boost the efficiency of buildings.

One of those projects was granted to OLEDWorks, which will investigate novel blue OLED materials. The DoE did not give any more details for this project, but it did say that the award amount of each project was up to $150,000.

The newest developments in OLED technology were eagerly anticipated at this year’s Light and Building show in Frankfurt. Could the latest technical advances and changes to the cost of panel manufacture finally allow the predicated breakthrough into the market?

Light and Building 2016 was host to four OLED Technology manufacturers, all demonstrating the capabilities of their products to an impressed audience.

Corning and OLEDWorks launched a new OLED lighting design contest - calling designers to integrate thin, lightweight and cool-to-the-touch OLEDWorks lighting panels into functional luminaires that are practical yet creative.

All proposals must be submitted by June 30, 2016. Up to five winners will be announced in September 2016 - and each will be rewarded with $10,000. The contest is open to the public, including students, emerging professional designers, and professionals working at design studios and luminaire companies.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) awarded OLEDWorks with $100,000 to develop white and amber OLED panels prototypes and get feedback from doctors and nurses at Highland Hospital. The amber light is blue-light free and so may not disrupt patient's sleeping patterns like LED does.

This is not the first time OLEDWorks develops Amber OLEDs. In July 2014, Acuity Brands unveiled new use cases for its Marker OLED luminaire, which uses Amber OLED panels made by OLEDWorks. The Amber OLED panel in 2014 emitted light at a 590 nm peak, and had a fixed luminance of 600 cd/m².

A couple of months ago US-based OLEDWorks announced that its Philips acquisition is finalized, and the company now introduces new OLED panels and modules.

So first up we have an update to Philips' OLED Brite FL300 panels. The Brite 2 FL300 are more efficient than the original FL300 (more than 60 lm/W for the 3,000K panel - up from 50 lm/W), a higher CRI (over 90, R9>50). The new panels are also available in two colors: 3,000K and 4,000K. You can find the preliminary product sheet here.

In April 2015, US-based OLEDWorks announced it will buy Philips' OLED business activity - including the production facility located in Aachen, Germany, and relevant IP. OLEDWorks was granted a license by Philips to market its OLED light source components under the Philips brand, and Philips will remain a distributor of the panels through its OEM sales channels.

Today OLEDWorks announced that the acquisition is complete. OLEDWorks has worked to re-brand their website and all of their owned digital properties to integrate Lumiblade product offerings and maintain a seamless transition for new and existing customers. OLED panel Manufacturing will continue in Aachen.

The New York Stat's Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) announced new funding for 11 firms to help increase the energy efficiency of buildings. One of these companies is OLEDWorks, that received $500,000 to work on brighter OLED lighting panels.

This is OLEDWorks third NYSERDA grant. In June 2013 the company was awarded $200,000 (in collaboration with WAC Lighting) to develop lighting for office space, combining LED indirect ambient device with an OLED "task unit", and in November 2013 OLEDWorks received $491,000 to improve the capability and control of its OLED manufacturing processes in order to manufacturing robust products at affordable cost.

OLEDWorks announced that it plans to increase capacity in its OLED lighting fab in Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY. OLEDWorks will invest $73.6 million in the new production line, and the company will get $2.5 million in state tax credits. OLEDWorks said it will hire 100 new employees for this fab "over the next five years".

A couple of months ago OLEDWorks announced it will acquire the key parts of Philips OLED lighting business, including the OLED lighting production fab in Aachen, Germany. It seems that OLEDWorks intends to operate two production lines - in the US and in Germany. Financial details of that deal have not been disclosed - it'll be interesting to see where OLEDWorks will get the money for the acquisition and the new fab in Rochester.

Earlier this year Philips announced its intention to spin-off its OLED activity, and the company started searching for a buyer for its whole OLED business activity. Today it was announced that US-based OLEDWorks will buy the key parts of Philips OLED lighting business.

Philips will establish a new legal entity and transfer key parts of its OLED business, including the production facility located in Aachen, Germany, and relevant IP. This new entity will then be sold to OLEDWorks, which will be granted a license by Philips to market its OLED light source components under the Philips brand. Philips will remain a distributor of the panels through its OEM sales channels.

Corning and OLEDWorks signed a collaborative agreement to develop flexible and conformable OLED lighting solutions using Corning's flexible Willow Glass as an integrated substrate and barrier.

Corning's Willow Glass will not just enable the panels to be flexible - the glass also integrates Corning's light extraction technology that will (according to OLEDWorks) enable them to double the light output from the panels.