EMD Performance Materials announces further investments of electronics business and new name: EMD Electronics

• New name reflects the product and service portfolio designed to enable the future of electronics in a data-driven world
• Investment into R&D and innovation centers in Tempe and Silicon Valley

EMD Performance Materials today announced an expanded focus on the US electronics business and a new name in the US: EMD Electronics. EMD Electronics, a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, includes a broad portfolio of semiconductor materials, semiconductor delivery systems and services, display, and surface solutions. The Electronics business globally employs more than 7,400 – with a third of employees in the US across 29 sites, with plans for continued growth in planarization and thin films organizations following recent investments. More information about the Electronics business can be found here.

Additionally, the company announced the relocation of the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub from Menlo Park to Intermolecular's San Jose facilities, combining Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany's innovation efforts in the Bay area with Intermolecular's services for materials and electronics, creating a unique space that empowers collaboration with startups. This announcement follows the $22 million investment at the EMD Electronics site in Tempe, Arizona for its R&D and production for semiconductor materials announced in February.

"Our name change and investment in these centers demonstrate our commitment to continued innovation in electronics and supporting US customers' requirements for capitalizing on growing opportunities driven by digital transformations and data-driven electronics," said Jeff White, President of EMD Electronics. "Our customers are working on cutting-edge technologies and products that range from better immersive displays and surfaces in cars and consumer electronics to how to move neuromorphic and quantum computing to the next level. Our combined expertise and portfolio in display and surface innovations, semiconductor materials and the safe delivery and storage of speciality chemicals and gases will enable new discoveries and novel products not even imagined yet."

As the company behind the companies advancing digital living, the Electronics business sector is involved in all major technology trends – be it 5G, Big Data, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, or the Internet of Things. Thanks to these and other megatrends, the demand for ever smaller, faster and more energy-efficient electronics is continuously growing. Sample innovations enabled by EMD 

Electronics include:

• Patterning, deposition and spin-on dielectrics materials to make 3D NAND possible
• DSA – revolutionary way of building microchips of the future
• OLED for brighter, thinner, free-form displays
• Liquid crystals for electronic steerable antennas to bring connectivity to places currently not reachable
• eyerise ® liquid crystal for greener windows and innovative building architecture

These technologies and innovations are being implemented across a diverse set of customers including larger companies and start-up companies. To enable new inventions for start-ups, EMD Electronics has launched a program for early-stage and growth companies looking to advance their technologies in the areas of displays, semiconductor materials, neuromorphic computing, AI enabled materials development and smart manufacturing by applying for the EvoNexus MarketLink Program by March 12.

About EMD Electronics

EMD Electronics is the North America electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. EMD Electronics' portfolio covers a broad range of products and solutions, including high-tech materials and solutions for the semiconductor industry as well as liquid crystals and OLED materials for displays and effect pigments for coatings and cosmetics. Today, EMD Electronics has approximately 2,000 employees around the country with regional offices in Tempe (AZ) and Philadelphia (PA). For more information, please visit www.emd-electronics.com.

About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark "Merck" internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics. Since its founding 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company's technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company.