ü SKC becomes the first in the world to produce conductive polymer films for touch panels on a commercial scale

ü SKC’s conductive polymer films beat ITO films in both price and quality



SKC has developed conductive polymer films for touch panels and have begun their commercial production for the first time in the world, opening a new chapter in the market for transparent electrode film for touch panels.



The conductive polymer film, a transparent electrode film for touch panels, uses a conductive polymer unlike most transparent electrode films on the market that use indium tin oxides or ITO.



Leading Japanese materials makers have been making active investments in the development of polymer-_ base_d transparent electrode films since 2000, but they have yet to develop the core technologies for durable, damp-proof and surface-resistant films.



The Conductive polymer films, which SKC has developed through five years of R&D efforts, are expected to rapidly replace ITO films since the former is on par with the latter in terms of quality but has an edge in price competitiveness. On top of this advantage, conductive polymer films are flexible and are tinged light blue and durable, making them ideal materials for micro thin films, e-Paper and LED lighting, all of which are heralded as promising future businesses.



Due to their transparency and conductivity, transparent electrode films are used as the core materials for touchscreen panels on mobile phones, navigation systems, monitors, PMPs, and PDAs. The recent surge in demand for ITO transparent electrode films has led to a mismatch between supply and demand. In addition, Japanese makers are dominating the film materials and touch panel markets. All these necessitate domestic production of transparent electrode films in order to strike a balance between supply and demand and to cut prices. With China accounting for 58 percent of the global production of indium, a main ingredient of ITO, fears over a mismatch between supply and demand caused the price of ITO transparent electrode films to soar. Against this backdrop, SKC’s breakthrough is expected to significantly contribute to addressing the supply shortage and promoting the domestic production of materials.



The world market for transparent electrode films was worth 560 billion won in 2010. With the market growing more than 23 percent per annum, it is expected to be worth 1 trillion won in 2013. Currently, Japanese companies are dominating the global market. Nitto Denko and Oike are the world’s No.1 and No.2 producers of transparent electrode films, occupying over 50 percent of the global market, followed by Teijin Kasei and Toyobo.