Plextronics, Inc. announced today that Solvay has provided $15 million (EUR 10 million) in a financing round to the company.
Pittsburgh, PA –
This financing will support the acceleration of Plextronics’ technology development and delivery of its innovative products to a growing base of global customers. Solvay is Plextronics’ largest minority shareholder.
Printed electronics is an emerging technology that takes advantage of new organic materials applied to existing printing technologies to manufacture on industrial scale electronic devices with a wider variety of shapes and supports, including thin, flexible substrates, with low manufacturing costs. Plextronics specializes in polymer-based materials and technologies for key applications of printed electronics such as organic light emitting diodes (OLED), specifically OLED displays and lighting, as well as organic photovoltaic cells (OPV).
“This continued investment clearly demonstrates Solvay’s commitment to Plextronics and the field of printed electronics. The adoption of OLED technology, for example, is a visible sign that organic and printed electronics are on the verge of becoming a major market for advanced materials. Plextronics is our partner of choice to succeed in this high growth area, and we continue to work closely on developing joint business opportunities,” comments Léopold Demiddeleer, Head of Future Businesses & Corporate Platforms, a section of Solvay’s newly created Innovation Center.
“Plextronics enjoys strong industry recognition and achieved significant milestones in the last two years as the preferred ink provider for solution processed OLED and OPV manufacturers. We are extremely pleased to have the continued support from Solvay and to work side-by-side with them in the advancement of printed electronics”, says Andy Hannah, President and Chief Executive Officer of Plextronics. “The advancement of our OLED technology is of particular importance as we work to meet projected customer demands for OLED flat panel display technology and OLED lighting applications,” he adds.
About Plextronics
PLEXTRONICS, Inc. an international technology company that specializes in printed lighting, display, solar and other organic electronics. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, the company’s focus is on organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and organic solar technology, specifically the conductive inks and process technologies that enable those and other similar applications. The privately held company was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Carnegie Mellon University, based upon conductive polymer technology developed by Dr. Richard McCullough. Since then, Plextronics scientists have refined and further developed this technology to deliver exceptional performance for printed electronics. The company is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified. For more information about Plextronics, visit www.plextronics.com.
About Solvay
SOLVAY is an international industrial Group active in Chemistry. It offers a broad range of products and solutions that contribute to improving quality of life. The Group is headquartered in Brussels and employs about 16,800 people in 40 countries. In 2010, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.1 billion. Solvay is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels, Belgium (NYSE Euronext: SOLB.BE – Bloomberg: SOLB.BB – Reuters: SOLBt.BR). Details are available at www.solvay.com.
