News & Press releases

World’s first application of flexible OLED lighting on foil

Holst Centre OLED signage device in Le Mans race car mirror

Eindhoven, June 9 2010 - In this year’s 24 hours Le Mans race (June 12-13), the ORECA01 car from French racing team Oreca will be using rear view mirrors with an integrated thin film encapsulated Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) on the back. Since flexible OLED lighting and signage devices will only be available on the market (and in our homes) within a few years, the initiators of the project - Huntsman Advanced Materials and Holst Centre - consider the integration in the composite material of the race car as a great success. The results of the project are valuable for the road to market of OLED lighting technology.

OLEDs are paper-thin, flexible and lightweight devices consuming up to 70% less energy compared to conventional light sources, making them prime candidates for the next generation of lighting. Before flexible OLED lighting and ignage devices can be commercialized, there are some important research challenges to be solved. To use OLEDs on the car, there was one critical step to overcome. OLEDs are sensitive to moisture, and even to oxygen, and had to be protected from these in order to maintain a long lifetime. The current success of the OLED integration in the car is dependent on the encapsulation technology and Araldite® composite materials of Huntsman Advanced Materials.

The OLED itself displays the logo Araldite® - a brand which belongs to Huntsman - and was provided by Holst Centre, a Dutch open-innovation initiative by imec (B) and TNO (NL). At Holst Centre, leading industrial and academic partners from across the world collaborate in mixed teams to solve shared research challenges. Holst Centre and its partners are amongst the very few who are already able to make flexible OLED lighting and signage devices. In the field of encapsulation technology and moist barriers for flexible electronic devices, Holst Centre and its partners are probably even ahead of all competition. Part of the OLED research was conducted within the European FP7 program Fast2Light, coordinated by Holst Centre.

Ton van Mol, Program Manager Flexible OLED Lighting and Signage at Holst Centre: “We are very proud to see our technology succesfully applied in this ambitious and prestigious project. To my knowledge, it is the first time that an OLED on flexible foil is shown outside the laboratory in an actual application. Because of the harsh conditions, applications in automotive are always very demanding for the technologies that are used. Racing teams like Oreca raise the bar even higher. The results of this integration project will be very valuable in our further research. We wish the entire team all the best during the race and hope that drivers, car and OLED will make a bright finish.”

André Genton, Huntsman CEO said: “The integration of the OLEDs into the ORECA O1’s rear view mirrors represents a great success. The ORECA car has already proven its speed and reliability over the past three seasons and by working hand in hand with other members of the team we have the opportunity to test our materials far beyond the limits of normal conditions.  If Araldite® can withstand the demands of a racing track, then we know we have a winning formula.”

Pierre Seze, Composite Department Manager at Oreca, explained: “First of all, we are very happy and proud to be involved in the OLED project. The integration of the OLED system in our carbon fiber pre-preg represents several advantages for our race car. The first one is the weight. Indeed with the OLED system our race car mirror carbon fiber made, keep its performance in terms of weight. Furthermore the integration of the OLED system doesn’t imply any mechanical problem on the carbon fiber pre preg made car mirror. This technology fit perfectly with the very demanding constraints of endurance race such Le Mans 24 Hours. I would like to pay a tribute to the guys at Huntsman laboratory in Switzerland for their help and support during the process of OLED integration on our race car.”

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Pictures (hi-res version available at Holst Centre upon request)

About Holst Centre

Holst Centre is an independent open-innovation R&D centre that develops generic technologies for Wireless Autonomous Transducer Solutions and for Systems-in-Foil. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia around shared roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs.

Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by IMEC (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research.

Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 150 employees from around 25 nationalities and a commitment from over 20 industrial partners.

Visit us at www.holstcentre.com

About Huntsman

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Its operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging. Originally known for pioneering innovations in packaging and, later, for rapid and integrated growth in petrochemicals, Huntsman today has more than 12,000 employees and operates from multiple locations worldwide. The Company had 2009 revenues of approximately $8 billion. For more information about Huntsman, please visit the Company’s website at www.huntsman.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations. The forward-looking statements in this release are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Huntsman companies’ filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Significant risks and uncertainties may relate to, but are not limited to, financial, economic, competitive, environmental, political, legal, regulatory and technological factors. In addition, the completion of any transactions described in this release is subject to a number of uncertainties and closing will be subject to approvals and other customary conditions. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such transactions will be completed or that the company’s expectations will be realized. The company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by applicable laws.

Legal information
Araldite® is a registered trademark of Huntsman Corporation or an affiliate thereof in one or more, but not all, countries.

Contact

For all inquiries about the Le Oreca race team at the Le Mans race:

Alexandre GIBOT
Chargé des Partenariats
Pole Compétition
Groupe ORECA
Siège Social Signes
T: + 33 (0)494 885 736
M: + 33 (0) 6 34 37 31 57

For all inquiries about OLEDs, the status of the technology and its application potential:

Koen Snoeckx
Communication Manager Holst Centre
T : +31 40 277 40 91
M : +31 612 71 98 43
Koen.snoeckx@holstcentre.com

For Hunstman press information only please contact:

Patricia Albisser
Huntsman Advanced Materials (Switzerland)
GmbH K-401.5.77
Klybeckstrasse 200
CH-4057 Basel
Switzerland
Phone: +41-61-299 2664
Fax: +41-61-966 8130
Email: patricia_albisser@huntsman.com

See also 

• Integration technologies for flexible systems program