Current Chemicals and Seaborough partner up to industrialize efficient nano engineered phosphor materials for LEDs

First nano size-based phosphor produced at an industrial scale

GREENVILLE, S.C. & AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Current Chemicals and LED technology company Seaborough B.V. are pleased to announce that they have engaged in a partnership project to bring Seaborough’s “EuroLED^®”, a new, red phosphor technology for highly efficient warm white LEDs, to the market on an industrial scale.

EuroLED® technology enables the use of Eu³⁺ phosphors for LEDs for the first time, which has been a great challenge in the LED industry for many years. Eu³⁺ phosphors have very beneficial spectral properties, with the promise to deliver more than 15% higher efficacy for warm white LEDs than LEDs with most commonly used phosphors. EuroLED^® is based on a nano-engineering technology that allows designing the luminescent properties of phosphor materials in a completely novel manner. As such, EuroLED^® would be the first nano size-based phosphor produced at an industrial scale, which requires very different expertise and production facilities compared to conventional larger phosphor materials.

In the proposed project, Seaborough and Current Chemicals will work together towards commercial readiness of Seaborough’s EuroLED^® technology. Seaborough, an Amsterdam based LED technology company that develops, commercializes, and licenses innovative lighting solutions, will be responsible for optimizing the materials to the target performance at lab scale, and technology transfer. Current Chemicals will be responsible for the industrial upscaling.

Marie Anne van de Haar, Program Director Materials at Seaborough: “According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2013, almost 20% of electricity consumption and 6% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide were attributed to electricity for lighting, with an expected rise of the global energy consumption for lighting with another 60% by 2030. The transition to energy-efficient lighting such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in buildings has progressed steadily with over 50% of global lighting sales in 2020 and this share will need to raise to 100% globally by 2025 in order to meet the net-zero emissions target by 2050. An additional efficiency increase of 15%, made possible by our new technology, will be a major contributor to achieve these targets.”

Quote Bill Cohen, Vice President & General Manager at Current Chemicals “We are excited to collaborate with the team at Seaborough to manufacture EuroLED^® technology based phosphors to enable the commercialization of this innovation for higher efficiency LED lighting products.“

“I clearly remember the day we invented the concept of EuroLED^®. Being able to collaborate with such an established party towards commercialization is a dream come true. Current Chemicals is the ideal partner for us to move forward to bring these premium phosphors to the market together”, Van de Haar concludes.

About Current Chemicals:

Current Chemicals, a division of Current, is a specialty materials manufacturer with more than 70 years’ experience in high purity luminescent materials, including LED phosphors, and rare earth compounds. Current’s patented TriGain^® KSF/PFS red phosphor enables 90 CRI lighting products and LED-backlit displays with the richest, most vibrant red color available on LED. In addition to Current’s advancements in phosphors, we also support customers in chemical manufacturing as well as the development of materials and formulations for diverse markets such as energy storage/conversion and specialized coatings. Learn more at CurrentChemicals.com.

About Seaborough

Seaborough is an R&D company with a strong in-house IP department and a business unit that markets LED solutions. Seaborough invents, develops and commercializes ground-breaking innovations for the lighting industry. The company is a technology front runner for the lighting industry and possesses the drive, skills and expertise to address the industry challenges. Seaborough aims to invent, develop and market proprietary lighting technologies through patenting and licensing. It is committed to achieve a real and sustainable positive impact on the broader community by ensuring that its products help to reduce the impact on the environment. Seaborough employs leading LED experts and researchers. It has its own research facilities and develops solutions in its own laboratory. The company is backed by investors who share its vision and goals and who are committed for the long-term. Seaborough is a participation of Momentum Capital. Learn more at www.seaborough.com