FlexEnable, the leader in the development and industrialisation of flexible organic electronics, has acquired Merck’s portfolio of best-in-class, high-performance Organic Thin-Film Transistor (OTFT) materials, including revolutionary and highly-patented organic semiconductors and dielectrics.
The deal makes FlexEnable the first company to offer display manufacturers both the only OTFT materials which are proven to have higher performance than amorphous silicon, and an entire package of industrially-proven manufacturing processes needed for production of flexible organic liquid crystal displays (OLCD) of any size.
With this material set and manufacturing IP, flat panel display companies can produce low-cost, area-scalable flexible displays, sensors and devices for mass-market applications such as consumer electronics, automotive, retail and beyond.
The acquisition of Merck’s OTFT materials – now branded as FlexEnable FlexiOM™ – includes over 300 patents covering materials, processes and devices. This brings FlexEnable’s total number of organic electronics patents to over 1,000. FlexiOM™ materials, together with FlexEnable’s proprietary low-temperature processes, allow glass TFT backplanes to be replaced with flexible OTFT backplanes enabling thin, lightweight, shatterproof and flexible devices. The deal includes all of the trailblazing IP and know-how developed by Merck over nearly 20 years, as well as the necessary materials supply chain. FlexEnable is now employing key members of technical staff responsible for the development of the materials and intends to continue to advance and broaden this materials platform going forward.
“Across industries such as consumer electronics and automotive, flexible displays are the catalyst for the next generation of experiences and products,” said Chuck Milligan, CEO of FlexEnable. “We have been working closely with Merck’s organic materials portfolio and team for many years and we saw here a unique synergy with our expertise that would put us ahead of the competition to replace flat glass displays in what is currently a $100 billion addressable market. The addition of FlexiOM™ materials to our industry-leading processes will significantly increase our revenue opportunity and further strengthen our business model, while providing a rapid route for display makers to commercialise large-area flexible displays needed now for many applications.”
“We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the world’s strongest organic electronics materials set, and also to welcome our new team members coming from Merck. We are also excited to welcome new customers requiring these high-performance organic materials for a broad spectrum of applications outside of displays.” added Chuck Milligan.
The addition of the FlexiOM™ OTFT materials to the FlexEnable portfolio lowers the barrier to entry for flexible OLCD production in existing LCD factories. Display manufacturers and OEMs can for the first time license technical processes and the requisite materials as a complete solution, accelerating the adoption of OLCD on existing flat panel display production lines with minimal capital expenditure, while still utilising the rest of their existing LCD supply chains.
FlexEnable’s FlexiOM™ OTFT materials are available immediately to customers worldwide for any organic electronics applications.
About FlexEnable
With over 1000 patents and more than 1000 engineering years in the development of organic materials and manufacturing processes, FlexEnable is the worldwide leader in organic electronics. We have developed and industrialised a complete low-temperature manufacturing process for small and large-area organic electronics on ultra-thin plastic substrates. FlexEnable also owns the best-in-class, highest-performance organic materials – FlexiOM™ – making us the only company to offer both materials which are better than amorphous silicon and industrially-proven enabling manufacturing processes. FlexEnable is bringing organic electronics technology to market in a fabless business model. Our processes and solutions have been developed to be run on existing flat panel display lines, leveraging existing assets and supply chain. Applications for FlexEnable’s technology include flexible displays for consumer electronics and automotive interiors, flexible sensors and optics. FlexEnable supplies FlexiOM™ materials and transfers and licenses its unique technology platform to display manufacturers. We also work directly with OEM and Tier 1 companies on developing next generation products, from design to prototyping and product qualification all the way to volume production.
