In one of the largest single investments made at Darmstadt in recent years, Germany’s Merck KGaA has opened a new plant for manufacturing organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). A total investment of around €30 million has been made in the facility, increasing capacity fivefold for the company that aims to be one of the leading OLED material suppliers by 2018, delivering from a single source.

Merck said it aims to be a leader in OLEDs by 2018, building on its experience in liquid crystals for displays, for which it now claims global leadership. The new plant is one of the largest single investments made by the company at Darmstadt in recent years.

“OLED technology has the potential to become the technology of the future for displays and lighting,” said Walter Galinat, CEO performance materials, adding that Merck has invested considerable resources early on, not just in Darmstadt but also in Japan, South Korea and China, where it operates application laboratories.

The company is currently working on ultra-thin, printable OLED displays which will allow the manufacture of flexible or rollable products for video walls or windows, for example. It said OLED technology will also create new possibilities in the automotive sector as well as in medicine and education.