LGD and UDC extend cooperation agreement to stabilize OLED material supply

On February 26, Universal Display Corporation, a well-known OLED technology and materials company, announced that it had extended its long-term OLED material supply and licensing agreement with LG Display. It is reported that LGD and UDC have a history of cooperation for more than 20 years. With the extension of this cooperation agreement, both parties will continue to promote global OLED innovation and development in the future.

According to the latest signed agreement, UDC will continue to provide its Universal PHOLED series phosphorescent OLED materials and related technologies to LGD through its wholly-owned subsidiary UDC Ireland Limited, directly supporting the R&D and production of LGD's high-end OLED products. Although both parties confirmed the continuation of the agreement, the specific financial terms and details have not yet been disclosed.

UDC President and CEO Steven V. Abramson said that extending cooperation with LGD is an important milestone in the partnership between the two parties. He said that the two parties have continuously achieved breakthrough innovations in OLED technology through close cooperation over the past two decades. UDC will continue to assist LGD in developing next-generation OLED panels in the future and provide material support with excellent performance in terms of efficiency, performance and reliability.

Data show that as a core participant in the OLED industry, UDC, founded in 1994, has licensed or sub-licensed more than 7,000 patents worldwide. Its core Universal PHOLED phosphorescent technology is the key to achieving energy-efficient, environmentally friendly displays and solid-state lighting equipment.

Looking back on the cooperation history between LGD and UDC, the relationship between the two parties can be traced back to the early 21st century. When OLED technology was still in the early stages of research and development and industrialization, the two companies established close technical ties. The red and green phosphorescent materials developed by UDC can significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency compared to traditional fluorescent materials, which has laid a solid technical foundation for LGD to establish a competitive advantage in the OLED market.

Over the past two decades, the cooperation between LGD and UDC has continued to deepen with the expansion of OLED application fields. From the initial small-size screens for mobile devices to LGD's successful mass production of large-size OLED TV panels in 2013 and its dominance of the global high-end TV market, UDC's technology has always played an important role.

LGD and UDC have ensured a stable supply of production raw materials through multiple renewals of supply and technology licensing contracts, and have jointly overcome core industry problems such as extending panel life, improving brightness, and reducing power consumption. At present, the scope of cooperation between the two parties has widely covered many high-growth fields such as TVs, smartphones, vehicle displays and wearable devices.

With the future growth in demand for IT OLED products and the explosion of the automotive OLED market, the close collaboration between LGD and UDC is expected to further accelerate the commercialization of efficient, high-durability OLED display technology.