Samsung Mobile Display and Corning have announced that they have formed a new OLED glass venture that will be located in Korea. The two companies have signed an agreement that will establish an equity venture to manufacture specialty glass substrates that will be used in the emerging OLED display market.
 
The new joint venture will combine Corning's Lotus Glass substrate technology along with Samsung's LED display making capability. Corning's Lotus Glass is very interesting and was on display at CES in January. Lotus Glass is a flexible glass material that is rugged and allows the design of gadgets and devices such as smartphones with curved screens. The glass will also be used in larger display such as OLED TVs.
 
"Corning and Samsung have a long and successful partnership in the display industry, dating back nearly 40 years to the early days of television," said Wendell P. Weeks, Corning's chairman, chief executive officer, and president. "The strength of our business relationship is built on Corning's ability to develop and make high-technology glass with the key attributes that enable Samsung's next-generation displays.”
 
The OLED glass substrates that are produced by the joint venture will be used by Samsung for its mobile products and will be sold to the broad Korean market. The OLED market is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. The screens are in high demand for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets due to their ability to reproduce colors accurately and use less power than traditional LCD screens.
 
"Samsung Mobile Display has led the global display industry by constantly seeking innovations and challenging current technologies' limits. We are confident that combining our business powers with Corning's technology leadership will deliver greater value to our clients," said Soo In Cho, Samsung Mobile Display's president and chief executive officer.
 
Lower power consumption is key in portable devices since when the screen needs less power the smartphone will last longer on a single charge. The display is one of the most energy consuming parts of the smart phone or other device. The OLED industry revenue is expected to pass $4 billion in 2011 and grow to more than $20 billion by 2018.
 
Corning also makes Gorilla Glass which is quite popular in smartphones, tablets, and more recently notebooks.