Business
Smartkem Announces Technology Collaboration Agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan
Strategic agreement will accelerate ability to manufacture commercially ready products using Smartkem OTFT technology. MANCHESTER, England, March 18, 2024
About this update from Smartkem, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Strategic agreement will accelerate ability to manufacture commercially ready products using Smartkem OTFT technology.\nMANCHESTER, England, March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Smartkem (OTCQB: SMTK), the developer of a disruptive type of organic transistor that has the potential to drive a new generation of displays, today announced that it has entered into a technology collaboration agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan to enable product prototyping on ITRI's equipment. This collaboration is part of Smartkem's commercialization strategy to allow global display manufacturers access to foundry services using Smartkem's technology.\n\nSmartkem's organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) technology will be used on ITRI's Gen 2.5 hybrid pilot line (substrate size: 370mmx470mm), with the aim to develop low-temperature processed display backplanes. This multi-year technology collaboration agreement is part of Smartkem's commercialization strategy to enable customers to prototype products on ITRI's line using Smartkem's OTFT technology before transferring to their own lines or subcontracting to a third party.\nThe development of this commercial manufacturing process has the potential to accelerate the adoption of Smartkem's technology by display manufacturers in Taiwan and around the world, marking a significant step in enabling the manufacturing of commercially ready products using Smartkem's OTFT technology.\nSmartkem Chairman and CEO, Ian Jenks, comments, \"We're delighted to announce this collaboration with ITRI, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry that has nurtured many successful startups. This agreement will strengthen one of our three strategic pillars of materials, electronic design automation (EDA)tools and foundry services and is another step forward on the road to product commercialization.\n\"If successful, the collaboration with ITRI will give our customers access to foundry services for prototyping before transferring manufacturing to their own lines or subcontracting to a third party for mass commercialization. Coupled with best-in-class materials and EDA services through FlexiIC, the ITRI capability will allow customers to explore the potential of OTFT for new markets and product concepts.\"\nITRI's pilot line contains tools with a similar specification to display manufacturing lines an...