Recently Universal Display Corporation through its UniversalPHOLED™ technology, announced a $1,918,878, two-year U.S. Department of Energy contract to accelerate development of white OLED lighting products. Universal Display plans to use Armstrong World Industries as a key subcontractor to fulfill the requirements of the grant. Funded through the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, this Solid-State Lighting Program award supports the DOE's long-term commitment to advance the development and market introduction of energy-efficient, solid-state white light sources for general illumination.

It's reported Universal Display and Armstrong will develop and deliver an integrated ceiling illumination system that is targeted to exceed the DOE's 2010 performance goals during the Solid-State Lighting Product Development Project. The white OLED lighting panels will be designed and fabricated by Universal Display using its high-efficiency phosphorescent OLED technology. The panels will then be integrated by Armstrong into its innovative TechZone™ open-architecture ceiling system. In addition, the team will deliver a white OLED lighting panel fabricated on a thin metallic foil substrate using Universal Display's UniversalPHOLED and other OLED technologies, to demonstrate the commercial product potential of white OLEDs with a flexible form factor.

Universal Display recently claimed a major research milestone for white OLEDs of 102 lm/W by the use of its UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology, Compared to incandescent bulbs with less than 15 lm/W and fluorescent lamps typically from 60 - 90 lm/W, this research result is a significant advance toward achievement of the full set of performance requirements for commercial products. Power-efficient white OLEDs may reduce energy consumption dramatically and lower the amount of by-product heat, further reducing energy and environmental burdens. White OLEDs are also environmentally benign, especially compared to mercury-containing fluorescent lamps and newer compact fluorescent lamps.