Merck signs nano deal with Yissum

Collaboration | Licensing

Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, and Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced  the signing of an R&D agreement between Merck and a Yissum spin-out, QLight Nanotech Ltd., for the joint development of a semiconductor nanoparticle technology for use in displays.

The technology was invented by Uri Banin from the Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will license the semiconductor nanoparticle technology for optical applications and will sponsor an R&D program to be conducted by QLight Nanotech over the next three years.

QLight Nanotech will contribute its experience in nanoparticle research, particularly in synthesising and manipulating new nanoparticles, and Merck will contribute its expertise in the specialty materials field and in large-scale production of chemical formulations, which will be used for producing large quantities of the nanoparticles developed at QLight.

“The long standing experience and the leading scientific expertise of the scientists of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the field of nanotechnology has convinced us to enter into a collaboration, which will enable both partners to explore a new horizon of optoelectronic applications,” Volker Hilarius, Director Advanced Technologies – Innovation Scouting at Merck. “We applied for the support of this joint effort at the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor as part of the Global Enterprise Cooperation Framework Program.”

“We are very pleased to partner with Merck, the world leader in liquid crystal materials for display applications,” said Yehuda Yarmut, Executive Vice President of Yissum. "This collaboration combines Professor Banin's expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology and, in particular, his leadership in research on nanoparticles with Merck's expertise in specialty materials."

Existing flat-screen displays are mainly based on liquid crystal technology. QLight’s technology will enable the development of both flexible and very large displays, including advertising displays, large-scale video and TV walls. The technology enables large-scale production and allows high brightness with low energy consumption.