Merck, a leading science and technology company, announced the successful launch of the HyperOLED project in April 12, a € 4million project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Within the scope of this project, Merck, as the project coordinator, will be in close collaboration with an excellent consortium of four European partners: Microoled (France), Fraunhofer-IOF (Germany), Durham University (UK) and Intelligentsia Consultants (Luxembourg). Over a three-year period, the HyperOLED project will develop materials and device architectures for high-performance, hyperfluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for use in display applications and solid state lighting.

The main objective of the HyperOLED project is to develop innovative high performance OLEDs by combining thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecular hosts with novel, specifically adapted shielded fluorescence emitters. The HyperOLED project will directly contribute to the development of thin, organic and large area Electronics (TOLAE), which is an emerging technology with high growth potential. The project will help to create reliable TOLAE-enabled devices with increased functionality, improved performance and longer lifetimes.

The new OLEDs promise to be more cost-efficient to manufacture because they are based on white OLED stacks that are easier to produce compared to current solutions. By reducing the number of layers in the OLED stacks, around 20-40% of organic materials can be saved, tact times can be reduced and less manufacturing equipment will be required. This will lead to considerable savings throughout the whole value chain, including solvents, educts, catalysts in material synthesis, energy saving in purification by sublimation as well as energy saving in OLED production.

Furthermore, thanks to the special properties of TADF molecular hosts and novel shielded fluorescence emitters, the improvement in OLED performance is expected to eliminate the need for expensive and rare metals (e.g. iridium and platinum), creating additional environmental and cost-saving impacts.

With the broad expertise of the consortium spanning the development and production of hyperfluorescence OLEDs, the HyperOLED project will directly target high-growth potential applications. Overall, this project is expected to stimulate exciting new business opportunities and economic output for Europe and beyond.