On December 11, the 2024 TCL Global Technology Innovation Conference (TIC2024) was held in Shenzhen. At the conference, Zhao Bin, Vice President and General Manager of the R&D Center of TCL CSOT, revealed that in October this year, the Micro LED pilot line of Xinying Display, a joint venture between TCL CSOT and Sanan, was completed and is expected to achieve small-batch trial production in 2025.
Image source: TCL
According to reports, in December 2020, TCL CSOT and Quanzhou Sanan jointly established Xiamen Xinying Display Technology Co., Ltd., focusing on research into the mass transfer, bonding, testing and repair technologies required for TFT-driven back Micro LED, and committed to realizing the large-scale production of Micro LED displays.
Image source: ChipInfo Display
In January 2022, Chipwin Display's Micro LED technology R&D project commenced, with a total investment of 300 million yuan. In September of this year, according to a report on the Huli Toutiao WeChat official account, Chipwin Display's pilot-scale verification line has been basically completed, with plans to begin pilot production by the end of this year and expects to expand production to achieve mass production within the next two years.
According to relevant information, in March 2024, the original plan was proposed to be restructured and changed to focus on the research and development of Micro LED displays based on G2.5 generation TFT substrates, with an additional 5 million yuan.
Production capacity will be further released in 2025, and the performance and cost of Micro LED will continue to be optimized . It is worth noting that, in addition to Chipwin Displays, several other companies have recently announced that their Micro LED projects will enter a new production phase next year.
Shenzhen Tianma recently told investors that the company began to lay out Micro LED technology in 2017. In 2022, the company jointly invested in the construction of a specialized Micro LED production line, which includes the entire process of mass production and transfer to display modules. The production line achieved product lighting on June 26 this year and will be fully operational by the end of this year. It is expected to have small-batch production capacity by the end of 2025.
AU Optronics (AUO) stated in its Q3 financial report released in November that its Micro LED products have been mass-produced in wearable and large-size applications. Furthermore, AUO announced that its Micro LED production line has progressed from Generation 1 to Generation 4.5 to expand production scale, with mass production of its Generation 4.5 Micro LED production line expected to begin in 2025.
Looking back at 2024, many Micro LED projects have entered new production stages, and the production scale of Micro LED will be increased in 2025.
For example, on November 6th of this year, BOE's HC SemiTek 6-inch Micro LED mass production line officially went into operation in Zhuhai. This is the industry's first Micro LED wafer manufacturing plant to achieve production line automation. Once fully operational, it will have an annual production capacity of 24,000 sets of Micro LED wafers (6-inch wafers) and 45,000,000 Micro LED pixel elements.
The Micro LED wafers and pixel devices produced by this project are mainly used in applications such as large-size commercial displays, AR/VR head-mounted displays, and wearable devices.
Image source: BOE Huacan Optoelectronics
In June, Sitan Technology's Micro LED production line project officially started mass production, with a designed annual capacity of 6 million display chips. This project has driven Micro LED from pilot testing to mass production, and the products can meet the needs of downstream applications such as AR/VR and automotive displays.
In March, the first phase of Lanpu Vision's Micro LED COB project officially went into production, with an annual output of 50,000 square meters of Micro LED COB display panels. The products are mainly used in large-size commercial displays, big data monitoring centers, smart conference centers, smart terminal displays and other scenarios.
It is expected that the second and third phases of Lanpu Vision's Micro LED COB project will be put into production in January and July next year, respectively. At that time, the annual production capacity of Micro LED COB display panels will gradually increase to 150,000 square meters.
The investment and imminent release of multiple new Micro LED production capacities have brought more expectations for the development of the Micro LED industry in 2025. It is expected to further optimize the performance and cost of Micro LED large-size displays, AR glasses, wearable displays, automotive displays and other products, and expand the demand and application of Micro LED.
From the perspective of chip production value, 2025 is expected to be the starting point for the rapid development of Micro LED technology.
According to TrendForce's forecast, the value of Micro LED chips is estimated to reach approximately US$38.8 million in 2024, with large displays remaining the primary contributor. By 2025, the value of Micro LED chips is expected to reach approximately US$78.5 million, representing an annual growth of about 102%.
Looking ahead, with breakthroughs in technological bottlenecks and the increasing maturity of applications in automotive displays and full-color solutions for AR glasses, the output value of Micro LED chips is expected to grow to US$489 million by 2028.
