David Hsieh
Vice President, Greater China Market
February 13, 2009
DisplaySearch

These days, just about every industry is marketing "green", and displays are no different. Green has become an increasingly important trend for the whole FPD industry and will continue to be a priority for the industry over the next decade. In fact, green FPDs accounted for 20% of total FPDs in 2008 on a unit basis, and the green share is expected to soar to 70% by 2012. In 2014, we expect all FPDs will be green.

(Editor's note: To begin, FPD stands for flat panel display, which is an industry term that covers the whole range of panel technologies including LCDs, plasmas, and LEDs. This article looks at "green" FPDs from the viewpoint of the industry rather than the consumer. The author, David Hsieh is from Display Search, a leading display market research and consulting company.)

Key drivers for the green FPD growth include environmental regulations such as RoHS, WEEE, EuP, Energy Star; cost reduction; reduced liability to prevent future damages or customer claims and social responsibility.

However, the current economic situation, with slow demand growth and an over-supply of panels, has many questioning the necessity for an emphasis on green technology. From our research, it is evident that green-centric display devices will have the most commercial potential and not only because they are environmentally friendly.

Many people believe that green panels are more expensive. While higher costs sometimes are involved (such as replacement of components with greener choices), often savings can be realized (such as replacement of backlight lamps with cheaper optical films). In many respects, green FPD technology can be a cost reduction technology.

FPD manufacturers and the entire supply chain can employ multiple methods to make green FPDs, including:

• Consider Green Factors While Designing Display Panels
  

  Greener design methods do not necessarily entail higher costs. However, first-tier panel suppliers obviously have better engineering capabilities and more abundant resources to apply green design.



• Use Eco-friendly Components to Save Power and Reduce Hazardous Substances

  This is a fast way for panel makers - no matter their capabilities - to move into green. With little impact on production yield, the cost premium is manageable. However, eco-friendly components (such as optical films and LED backlights) may cost more. Therefore, regulations and customer attitudes are the key drivers for this method.

  Green component prices will drop rapidly for two reasons.

  1. As green panel volumes continue to grow, economies of scale will increase and lower costs for component suppliers.
  2. The market downturn is forcing changes in the negotiation power between panel makers and component suppliers.

  Examples of green components include glass, LEDs, backlight units and driver ICs. Notebook LED backlights are a good example of how the costs can be reduced sharply, helping more panel makers to adopt green components.



• Reduce the Number of Production Processes & Implement Greener Manufacturing Processes
  

  Depending on production volumes, reducing the number of production processes can result in lower cost of production. Despite this, yield rate management still remains an issue. If the manufacturing yields are lower with the new process, then it will have a negative impact on the cost structure. This is why the second-tier panel suppliers are less interested in this tactic.

  In addition, developing new, greener processes, such as Color Filter On Array (COA) and Super High Aperture (SHA) can improve the panel transmittance and therefore reduce the power consumption or simplify the panel backlight structure.

  Reducing the energy needed for manufacturing and the chemicals used during production also provides for greener manufacturing. Other green manufacturing options include low temperature processes, developing more efficient fabs & equipment, providing on-site F2 generation for CVD cleaning, recycling heat/cooling energy and reducing emissions.



• Obtain Certification from Green Regulation and Labels such as RoHS, WEEE, Energy Star, etc.
  

  There are a growing number of green certification and regulation labels that can be obtained by meeting specific standards such as energy consumption, using less hazardous substances, etc.



• Comply with the Green Requirements from End Users and/or Brand Customers
  

  As the growing green trend spreads to device manufacturers/brands, more and more consumers will consider green devices - which can provide many opportunities for those display manufacturers who go green.

OLED displays are greener than LCDs and plasma displays (PDP) due to its simpler structure and lower power consumption. However, LCD is still the dominant technology in the PC and TV industry therefore it's more important for LCD to move to Green.

For IT panels (Notebook PC and LCD monitor), 15% of the panels are green in 2008 and expected to reach more than 80% in 2013.

For LCD TV panels, the green path is actually moving faster than the IT panels. The green LCD TV panels penetration is moving from 20% to 95% in 2013.

For plasma, there are three main methods for green PDPs: developing high luminous efficiency for low power consumption; using eco-friendly materials and reducing EMI; and developing new process for reducing consumption of process materials.

DisplaySearch's 11th Annual USFPD Conference, March 2 - 4, San Diego
One of the conference's sessions titled, "Emerging Trends: Leveraging Solar and Green for Competitive Advantage" will examine the opportunity of FPD companies to take advantage of environmental concerns, using "green" as a means of competition.

The session will provide insight as to how display companies are providing real improvements in the design and operation of their products and the challenges in communicating such benefits to consumers. For more information on DisplaySearch's USFPD conference or to register, visit www.displaysearch.com/usfpd.