DuPont announced that it has been awarded a US$2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a two-year project to develop a solid-state lighting source using low-cost organic light emitting diode (OLED) solution-processing manufacturing techniques.
Through the grant DuPont is developing low-cost, energy efficient OLED lighting solutions that have the potential to transform the lighting market. DuPont said that solution-processing is a cost-effective technique for the manufacture of OLEDs due to its lower capital investment, reduced fixed costs, and efficient use of materials. The benefits are seen through manufacturing large areas at low cost while delivering completely new, highly efficient lighting concepts, said DuPont.
According to the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance, more than 20% of U.S. electrical energy in 2009 is used for lighting. The U.S. domestic market for lamps, ballasts, lighting fixtures, and lighting controls is $15 billion and $75 billion, globally. Solid-state lighting technologies, which include OLEDs, said DuPont, have the potential to save 348 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity by 2030 compared with traditional light sources.
Compared to Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which are small point sources manufactured on relatively small semiconductor wafers, DuPont said that OLEDs have a surface area light source which can be made on large sheets of glass or in a roll-to-roll process, allowing significant economies in manufacturing. Also, said DuPont, OLED lighting can use less energy and provide the same quality of light or better.
