The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that a Georgia Tech research team is among one of seven chosen for R&D funding in the area of solid-state lighting (SSL).
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that a Georgia Tech research team is among one of seven chosen for R&D funding in the area of solid-state lighting (SSL).
The project, entitled “Stable White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Enabled by New Materials with Reduced Excited-State Lifetime,” is led by Bernard Kippelen, who is the Joseph M. Pettit Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Regents’ Professors Seth Marder and Jean-Luc Bredas join Kippelen as co-principal investigators from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry on this project, which has been selected for pre-award negotiations for $1.1 million of funding for a two-year period.
Kippelen and his team will pursue a theoretical and experimental science program for discovery of novel organic blue materials and corresponding laboratory devices based on efficient and selective energy transfer. The project contributes to high efficiency and stability in white organic LEDs (WOLEDs).
All of the projects that are funded by this Energy Department program will help to accelerate the development of high-quality light-emitting diode (LED) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products that can significantly reduce energy costs for American families and businesses by using less electricity than products currently in use, and ensure that the United States remains a global leader in SSL innovation. Total Energy Department funding for the seven projects is $8 million and leverages a cost-share contribution from each recipient, for a total public-private investment of over $10 million.
Solid-state lighting has contributed to more than $2.8 billion in U.S. energy cost savings over the past 15 years, and further SSL technology advances will increase those savings even more in the years to come. By 2035, SSL could reduce national lighting electricity use by 75% – that would equate to the total energy consumed by 45 million American homes today and could save American families and businesses $50 billion annually, not to mention add jobs and boost the economy.