LG Chem's OLED evaporation materials business is experiencing robust growth, positioning the company to potentially surpass DuPont and claim the second-largest market share in the global OLED evaporation materials market by 2024, according to market research firm DSCC's "AMOLED Materials Report."
Citing South Korean news outlet ZDNET Korea, LG Chem's success is attributed to two key factors: its entry into Samsung Display's (SDC) supply chain and increased adoption of its materials by LG Display (LGD). This growth trajectory is expected to continue, with LG Chem potentially widening its lead over DuPont by 2025.
LG Chem currently supplies various OLED materials to multiple panel manufacturers, including red (R), green (G), and blue (B) main hosts, as well as auxiliary layer organic materials such as the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole blocking layer (HBL). The company's breakthrough into SDC's supply chain, replacing Solus Advanced Materials as the HBL material supplier, has been a significant factor in its market advancement.
Furthermore, LGD has expanded its use of LG Chem materials in new OLED material combinations. The collaboration between LGD and LG Chem, which spans a decade, resulted in the successful development of P-type dopants in 2023. These dopants, crucial for enhancing device efficiency, color purity, and luminous lifetime in OLED emission layers, are now being applied to single-layer OLEDs for mobile devices and two-stack tandem OLEDs for IT devices starting in 2024.
This development is particularly noteworthy as LGD is currently supplying OLED panels for Apple's new iPad Pro, which uses two-stack tandem OLED technology. The industry is speculating about the potential wider applications of these materials, including their possible use in WOLED televisions in the future.
DSCC points out that P-type dopants, previously produced exclusively by Germany's Novaled, are now being developed and applied by LG Group subsidiaries. This in-house capability further strengthens LG Chem's position in the OLED materials market.
According to DSCC and ZDNET Korea, LG Chem ranked third in the global OLED evaporation materials market as of 2023, behind American OLED material companies UDC and DuPont. However, with its recent advancements and strategic positioning, the company is poised for significant growth in the coming years, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape of the OLED materials industry.
