July 27, 2011 — Solvay provided EUR10 million (USD15 million) to printed electronics company Plextronics, in a financing round to accelerate Plextronics’ technology development and product delivery. Solvay is Plextronics’ largest minority shareholder.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Plextronics focuses on organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and organic solar photovoltaics (OPV) technology, specifically the conductive inks and process technologies that enable those and other similar applications. It was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in 2002, based on the research of Dr. Richard McCullough. The company is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified.

Printed electronics enable new form factors and cost structures for electronic devices.

Plextronics has achieved milestones in the last two years as an advanced ink provider for solution-processed OLED and OPV manufacturers, noted Andy Hannah, President and Chief Executive Officer of Plextronics, who called attention to the company’s OLED development for flat panel displays and lighting applications.

Léopold Demiddeleer, Head of Future Businesses & Corporate Platforms, a section of Solvay’s newly created Innovation Center, noted that OLED adoption is a sign that printed electronics are headed for mass markets.

PLEXTRONICS Inc. an international technology company that specializes in printed lighting, display, solar and other organic electronics. For more information about Plextronics, visit www.plextronics.com.

SOLVAY is an international industrial Group active in chemistry. Solvay is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels (NYSE Euronext: SOLB.BE – Bloomberg: SOLB.BB – Reuters: SOLBt.BR). Learn more at www.solvay.com.

Also read: Organic Electronics Workshop: OLEDs, OTFTs, OPV, and futile resistance by Michael A. Fury