Chemtura and UP Chemical announced the formation of DayStar Materials, a joint venture company which will manufacture and sell high-purity metal organic precursors for the rapidly growing LED market.

The joint venture will leverage Chemtura's capability and technology related to metal alkyls for polymerization and other specialty applications, together with its backwards integration for trimethylaluminum (TMA), a key material used in the manufacture of high-purity metal organic precursors for use in the production process for high-brightness LED chips.

The joint venture will further combine the strengths of UP Chemical, who specialize in the research, development, production, high-purity refinement and sale of various chemical vapor deposition precursors, as well as other thin film deposition materials for the electronic materials market in South Korea and the Asia Pacific region.

The joint venture will begin supply of high-purity metal organic precursors in the second quarter of 2011.