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Quantum year for Nanoco

A deal with a major chemical company is set to boost quantum dot maker Nanoco (NANO.
March 25, 2015

2015 looks set to be a big year for quantum dot maker Nanoco (NANO). The technology is inching closer to commercialisation following a manufacturing contract signed in December with Dow Chemical Company. Dow is building the world's first cadmium-free quantum dot manufacturing plant in South Korea using Nanoco's technology. Production is expected to begin in the middle of the year.

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Under the 15-year exclusive agreement, Nanoco will get royalty payments from Dow based on sales. The first such payment could come in the fourth quarter of this year and analysts speculate it could be in the region of 25 per cent of Dow's top line. Encouragingly, Dow recently signed a partnering agreement with LG Electronics, which will see it supply Nanoco's quantum dots for use in LG's HD televisions, due to launch this year. Management maintains that electronics giant Samsung will eventually partner with Dow, too.