AMOLED material consumption will ‘surge’ in the second half of 2015, says IHS, as LG Display increases production of its WOLED TV panels. The WOLED material market was worth $58 million in the first half of this year. However, IHS predicts almost threefold growth, to $165 million, in the second half. A CAGR of 79% between 2014 and 2019 is predicted.
Although the market is still young, it will grow in conjunction with a rise in WOLED panel production this year. As this technology is mainly used for large-screen AMOLED displays – particularly TVs – “the rapid growth in the WOLED market will lead the continued growth in the overall AMOLED materials market”, said IHS’ Kihyun Kim.
LG Display is the world leader in the WOLED panel market. The company began to make WOLED TV panels at its E3 line, in Paju, in Q4’12. G8 mother glass processing was installed in LGD’s E4 plant in February 2014, to mass produce WOLED panels. The line became operational in Q4’14, but yields have so far been low. However, full operation did not begin until Q2’15.
Most AMOLED TV panel makers, especially in China, are focusing on WOLED technology, said Kim. The total AMOLED materials market – both fine metal mask (FMM) RGB and WOLED types – will grow 54% YoY, to reach $658 million in 2015. A value of $2 billion is predicted by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 37% from 2014.
