PRESS RELEASE: BASF enters Holst Centre partner network on flexible electronics

EINDHOVEN – November 22, 2010 - Today, BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, and Holst Centre, an open-innovation research initiative by imec (B) and TNO (NL), announce their partnership on research for flexible electronics. By entering the existing research network around shared roadmaps and challenges, BASF will contribute to and get insight in the progress on organic circuitry and thin-film transistors on flexible substrates.

Over the past years, organic and oxide transistors on flexible substrates have gained a lot of academic and industrial interest. Backplanes for displays and complementary-logic (CMOS) circuits are amongst the research domains that receive considerable attention. BASF is considered a leading global player in the enabling materials for such flexible electronic systems; for example n-type and p-type organic semiconductors and organic dielectrics

At Holst Centre, partners from across the value chain collaborate in shared programs to tackle the research challenges for next generation products. Already, over 30 leading materials suppliers, equipment builders and end-product manufacturers are actively involved in the mixed teams with Holst Centre researchers on the domains of flexible electronics and wireless sensor technologies. The recent partnership agreement with BASF adds another important player to the open innovation eco-system. Together with the consortium of partners, Holst Centre aims to upscale flexible electronics technologies towards large-volume compatible processes.

Paul Heremans, Program Manager Organic and Oxide Transistors: “In close collaboration between teams in Eindhoven and imec teams in Leuven, our program has delivered some globally recognized scientific results over the past years. We are very pleased to also see industrial interest growing. The partnership with BASF supports us in our ambition to bridge fundamental research with industrially relevant technology development.”

"For BASF, Holst Centre’s competences are an ideal fit with our own competences in printed and organic electronics,” explains Dr. Stephan Klotz, Director Printed Electronics at BASF Future Business. “The cooperation will further enhance our ability to develop innovative and fit-for-purpose semiconducting materials for high end electronic applications."

More information
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com

About Holst Centre
Holst Centre is an independent open-innovation R&D centre that develops generic technologies for Wireless Autonomous Sensor Technologies and for Flexible Electronics. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia around shared roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs.
Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research.
Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 170 employees from around 25 nationalities and a commitment from over 30 industrial partners.
More information: www.holstcentre.com

Contact
Koen Snoeckx
Communication Manager Holst Centre
E-mail: Koen.Snoeckx@holstcentre.com
T: +31 (0)40 277 40 91
M: +31 (0)612 71 98 43