Merck opens research centre for electronic applications in Darmstadt

The science and technology company new Research Centre for electronic applications is situated on the campus of its headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. The centre represents a EUR 50 million investment and will act as a research hub to further advance innovations for the display and semiconductor industries. “As our prime science and technology hub, our headquarters in Darmstadt offers tremendous expertise and capability for Research & Development work for Merck”, says Kai Beckmann, CEO Performance Materials and Merck Executive Board member responsible for the Darmstadt site, in a press release. “This new Research Center for electronic applications is living proof of our commitment to become an even stronger partner for our customers through top-notch R&D”. The building will be dedicated to Research & Development activities for next-generation materials, including display materials – such as liquid crystals and quantum dot pixel color converters (QDPCC) – as well as semiconductor materials – such as photoresist materials, dielectrics and directional self-alignment materials (DSA). After 33 months of construction it is planned that the new 11’000 square metre building will offer office and lab space for 140 employees. The investment for the new building is part of an investment program announced last year, under which the company is investing a total of EUR 1 billion in its corporate headquarters up to 2025 to create additional growth potential for the Darmstadt site. A new membrane facility for its Life Science business is under construction.