Hague Corp.'s (OTC Bulletin Board: HGUE), wholly owned subsidiary Solterra
Renewable Technologies today announced that it is initiating the next phase
in its plan to make high volume synthesis of tetrapod quantum dots a reality.
Up until now, tetrapod quantum dots, as well as other forms of quantum dots,
have only been produced in very small, milligram quantities per day, using expensive
materials and processing techniques that are laborious and time consuming.
Solterra's CEO Stephen Squires explained that as a result of the breakthrough
process technology developed at Rice University (exclusively licensed by Solterra),
along with the scale up efforts of the Solterra team, we are now ready to initiate
the next phase in producing high quality, uniform tetrapod quantum dot semi-conductors
using a continuous batch process.
Initially our target for the continuous batch process line will be production
of approximately 100 grams of tetrapod quantum dots per day. For comparison,
a typical single-pot synthesis method will only produce one-tenth of a gram
(100 milligrams) per day.
Squires noted although gram-amount quantities may sound like lab-scale efforts,
as with many nanomaterials, quantum dot dependent applications typically use
the materials sparingly, while the weight-to-performance ratios produce amazing
product enhancements.
A key barrier to large volume sales has been is price: quantum dots can cost
anywhere from US$3,000 to $10,000 per gram, restricting their use to highly
specialized applications (source: Nature Magazine June 2009 "Quantum Dots
go large) whereas Solterra's Quantum Dots will be brought to market at prices
varying between $800.00 to $2500.00. This very competitive price point will
allow us quickly to capture significant market share.
We believe our low cost materials and efficient continuous batch process will
be the key to reducing the price of high quality quantum dots and as a result,
enable rapid commercialization of quantum dot dependent emerging technologies/applications,
such as solar cells, flexible displays, flash memory devices and LED lighting
among others.
Once our initial continuous batch line is operating at its full potential
we will begin the next phase which includes using some very exciting process
technologies that we believe will allow us to scale up from grams per day to
kilograms per day. The increased output will support both our own quantum dot
solar cell development as well as the development of other emerging quantum
dot dependent technologies. According to BCC Research, the overall market for
quantum dots is expected to reach US$721 Million by 2013.