Vertical Divider
LGD Will Increase Gen 6 OLED Capacity by 15,000 Substrates/Month Capacity in 2022
LG Display will expand its E6-3 OLED line, which is dedicated to Apple. The company had delayed its spending plan on E6-3 back in 2017 as it was in a negative free cash position. But in Q420 and Q121, it had positive free cash and Apple’s OLED orders were increasing, expected to be 50m panels in 2021. If LG was to be a full service supplier to Apple it needed to increase capacity and implement LTPO, which requires more masks than LTPS and therefore more lithography equipment. LG Display is projected to spend over 1 trillion won ($870M) for the expansion and will start placing orders for the equipment in the third quarter. E6-3 is the third phase upgrade of the E6 plant. LG Display manufactures flexible OLED panels for Apple using Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) substrates here. E6-3 will have a capacity of 15,000 substrates per month, similar to E6-1 and E6-2. A Gen 6 OLED line with a capacity of 15,000 substrates per month is estimated to cost ~$3.2B. But LG Display already has the factory grounds for E6-3. It also already has the organic material deposition equipment and encapsulation equipment from Japan’s Canon Tokki inside the factory grounds.
LG Display will be placing the purchase orders next month for the front-end processes of OLED production, which includes equipment for thin-film transistors (TFT), deposition and encapsulation. Orders for the module and other back-end processes will likely follow. Apple increased its component orders for the upcoming iPhone 13 by 20% to around 90 million units as compared to its orders of 75 million units it placed for iPhone 12 in the same time period. Apple wants a more balanced supply chain and has encouraged LGD to accelerate the expansion. LG Display has been producing 5,000 LTPO TFT substrates per month last year. It plans to put in LTPO equipment for 25,000 substrates per month capacity within E6 by the end of 2021. E6-3 could start production in the second half of 2022 at the earliest.
A capacity of 30,000 substrates/mo. can produce 70m panels/year at an 80% yield. At about $70 per panel, it is the equivalent of $5B.
LG Display will expand its E6-3 OLED line, which is dedicated to Apple. The company had delayed its spending plan on E6-3 back in 2017 as it was in a negative free cash position. But in Q420 and Q121, it had positive free cash and Apple’s OLED orders were increasing, expected to be 50m panels in 2021. If LG was to be a full service supplier to Apple it needed to increase capacity and implement LTPO, which requires more masks than LTPS and therefore more lithography equipment. LG Display is projected to spend over 1 trillion won ($870M) for the expansion and will start placing orders for the equipment in the third quarter. E6-3 is the third phase upgrade of the E6 plant. LG Display manufactures flexible OLED panels for Apple using Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) substrates here. E6-3 will have a capacity of 15,000 substrates per month, similar to E6-1 and E6-2. A Gen 6 OLED line with a capacity of 15,000 substrates per month is estimated to cost ~$3.2B. But LG Display already has the factory grounds for E6-3. It also already has the organic material deposition equipment and encapsulation equipment from Japan’s Canon Tokki inside the factory grounds.
LG Display will be placing the purchase orders next month for the front-end processes of OLED production, which includes equipment for thin-film transistors (TFT), deposition and encapsulation. Orders for the module and other back-end processes will likely follow. Apple increased its component orders for the upcoming iPhone 13 by 20% to around 90 million units as compared to its orders of 75 million units it placed for iPhone 12 in the same time period. Apple wants a more balanced supply chain and has encouraged LGD to accelerate the expansion. LG Display has been producing 5,000 LTPO TFT substrates per month last year. It plans to put in LTPO equipment for 25,000 substrates per month capacity within E6 by the end of 2021. E6-3 could start production in the second half of 2022 at the earliest.
A capacity of 30,000 substrates/mo. can produce 70m panels/year at an 80% yield. At about $70 per panel, it is the equivalent of $5B.
Contact Us
|
Barry Young
|