Hsinchu, Taiwan,
AUO Corporation ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced that it has successfully turned on Taiwan’s very first 46-inch LCD TV panel, produced by the Company’s 8.5th generation ("G8.5") facility at its Taichung Science Park site, marking a landmark in the history of the development of Taiwan’s new-generation TFT-LCD fabrication.
"For AUO itself, the significance of Taiwan’s very first 46" panel produced by G8.5 technology is its profound breakthrough in manufacturing technology by overcoming the obstacles of a super-size G8.5 mother glass substrate. This success also symbolizes a technology advancement solely accomplished by our nationals, making Taiwan’s TFT-LCD industry more competitive as a whole.” said Dr. LJ Chen, President and COO of AUO, who very much accredited the endeavors of AUO G8.5 TFT, color filter and module, to the project team members.
“Every panel produced by a new generation fab represents a technology breakthrough. What really makes this 46-inch panel special are: firstly, this is a panel produced by a genuine green fab, and secondly, it is produced by the world’s first TFT-LCD hybrid fab*.” added Dr. Chen, speaking in relation to AUO’s continued leadership in this new generation of manufacturing process technology in the history of Taiwan’s TFT-LCD development.
Following commitments envisaged in AUO’s Green Solutions revealed early this year, the company’s G8.5 fab not only showcases AUO’s leading manufacturing process technology, but more significantly, it was also designed and built by many new green ideas, making it a genuine green fab, as well as realizing the company’s green production commitment to AUO Green Solutions.
“Concerning the future growth of TFT-LCD applications, AUO, being a global citizen and a leading TFT-LCD supplier, has every responsibility and is pledged to minimize the environmental impact caused by the manufacturing process. We are working to fully implement measures in reducing energy consumption and waste, and more importantly, lead the Industry in building a green example for TFT-LCD fabs” said Dr. Chen.
Throughout the building stage, the project team has embarked on an ambitious scheme by striving to implement innovative ideas in a bid to seek the right use of all resources, including incorporating heat recycle design to the heat processors, which enables the reuse of heat emitted during production and results in up to 40% energy- savings per piece of equipment. In addition, to realize the idea that waste can be good, the team installed a wind turbine on top of some air outlets. These turbines are capable of generating more than 100KWh of electrical power per day, resulting in a carbon emission reduction of 25 tons annually, which is equivalent to the carbon emissions produced by 50,000 standard-size vehicles.
The project team also extended green innovations to conserve water. In addition to the fab’s central water recycle system; some of the manufacturing processes points are interconnected by a Water Inter-use System (WIS), which enable points to share water resources without having the need to go through the entire fab’s water recycle system. This design can effectively save 335,000 tons of water, an amount equivalent to 160 standard swimming pools. Furthermore, about the size of 7 standard international football stadiums, the enormous 50,000 square meters rooftop of the G8.5 fab utilizes a rainwater harvest system with an estimated capacity of over 25,000 tons of rainwater per year, an amount equivalent to 11 standard swimming pools.
The size of AUO’s G8.5 mother glass substrate is 2200mm x 2500mm and can optimally cut up to six 52-inch or 55-inch panels and eight 46-inch panels. The G8.5 line in Taichung is targeted to enter mass production in Q3 of 2009. The line has timely flexibility to meet customers’ demands for 40-inch and above panel sizes and its actual ramp-up is to be determined by future market demands.
This TFT-LCD hybrid fab consists of both 8.5 and 7.5 lines and this realization of an integrated single fab can improve production flexibility by 100%, providing customers a more satisfactory tailor-made service. This integration is a leading innovative design in the Industry, which allows AUO to maintain a cautious position in terms of of its capacity input while enabling timely adjustments in accordance with market demands.
“Although the light at the end of tunnel is yet to be seen, we have always believed that opportunities come to those with the best readiness.” added Dr. Chen.
(*)AUO hybrid fab consists of both G8.5 (mother glass substrate 2200mm x 2500mm) and G7.5 (mother glass substrate 1950mm x 2250mm) lines. The monthly full capacity of G8.5 line is 40,000 glass substrates and of the G7.5 line is 60,000 glass substrates.
Yawen Hsiao
Corporate Communications Division
AUO Corporation
No.1, Li-Hsin RD 2, Science-Based Industrial Park,
Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Tel：+886-3-500-8899 ext：3211
Fax：+886-3-5772730
Email：Yawen.Hsiao@auo.com