Nanoco Group PLC and scientific research company Merck have signed a material supply and licensing agreement whereas Merck will be able to market Nanoco’s cadmium-free quantum dots (CFQD) in order to strengthen Merck’s quantum materials research.
As part of the agreement, Merck could establish its own production facility in order to meet the growing market demand for CFQDs. Merck says it will use the eco-friendly display materials in order to complement its own product portfolio for the display industry, something it began by acquiring Qlight Nanotech based in Israel last year.
Under the non-exclusive agreement, Merck will begin in the near term by selling CFQD manufactured at Nanoco’s production plant in Runcorn, U.K. The deal, for which the financial details were not disclosed, continues Nanoco’s commercialization strategy in the display market to provide CFQD en masse in order to proliferate the technology.
Recently Nanoco rallied against a plan that would have seen an exemption of the use of cadmium, a material shown to be toxic to human health and the environment, in the EU market. The company explained that the materials are no better than the benefits of CFQDs, which provide brighter colors and increased brightness in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) (Read: Nanoco Calls to End Cadmium Exemption in EU).
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