Nanoco Group plc, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, today announced it has signed a seven-year supply and licensing agreement with Wah Hong Industrial Corporation (“Wah Hong”), a leading Taiwanese manufacturer and supplier of optical films.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nanoco will supply its cadmium-free quantum dot resin, manufactured at the company’s plant in Runcorn, UK. Wah Hong will process the resin and then market it to its existing customer base in the display industry.
This agreement marks the first to be signed by Nanoco since the Company adopted a non-exclusive strategy for the commercialization of its technology in the display industry, as announced earlier this year.
Wah Hong, a publicly traded company on the Taipei Exchange, has a large operational footprint across China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of optical films and sheets for displays. Wah Honghas already received significant interest from its display customers following the pre-marketing of Nanoco’s cadmium-free quantum dot product.
The financial details of the supply and license agreement are confidential, but Nanoco will receive an upfront payment, payment for delivery of quantum dot resin, and a royalty on Wah Hong’s sales of processed resin.
In line with Nanoco’s strategy, the agreement is non-exclusive. It runs for an initial seven-year period until December 31, 2023, after which it is renewable by agreement.
“We are very excited about signing this agreement with Nanoco because it gives us the opportunity to provide our customers with Nanoco’s cadmium-free quantum dot product, which is the most advanced material for next generation LCD displays,” said C.P. Yeh, President of Wah Hong Industrial Corporation. “Display makers in East Asia are increasingly aware of the hazards of cadmium and we believe that this cadmium-free product will be an important driver of growth to complement our existing product range.”
Nanoco will manufacture red and green cadmium-free quantum dots on the existing production lines at its Runcorn facility; additional manufacturing capacity will be brought on at the appropriate time.
Following the signing of this contract, Nanoco will work with Wah Hong to produce samples for potential customers, after which there will be a qualification process before Wah Hong’s commercial supply of product can begin.
“We’re delighted to enter this agreement with Wah Hong Industrial Corporation, a major company in the supply of product to display makers across East Asia,” said Michael Edelman, Nanoco’s Chief Executive Officer. “This agreement marks our first since the Company adopted a non-exclusive strategy in display with the objective of bringing our products to market quickly. We look forward to working alongside Wah Hong to drive the commercialization of our technology.”
