OREANDA-NEWS. BASF, the world's leading chemical company, intends to set up its new Electronic Materials Research and Development (R&D) Center Asia Pacific in partnership with Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Suwon, South Korea. Located within the SKKU campus around 30 kilometers from Seoul, the facility will serve as an integrated hub for electronic materials research in the region. The new R&D Center is scheduled to open in 2014.

BASF signed a letter of intent today at a ceremony in Brussels, Belgium, in the presence of Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Yoon Sang-jick.

"Korea is at the cutting edge of the electronics industry and of electronic materials research. By setting up our new Electronic Materials R&D Center Asia Pacific at Sungkyunkwan University, we will be able to combine BASF's international expertise in electronic materials with the latest advances from top research scientists. This in turn will translate into fast, market-driven innovations for our customers," said Dr. Lothar Laupichler, Senior Vice President Electronics Materials at BASF.

"With an extensive scientific network both in academia and industry, Sungkyunkwan University is the partner of choice for international research and development. SKKU and BASF share a heritage of innovation and a vision of contributing to the development of electronic materials research, and this collaboration will support scientific advancement as well as creating benefit for both partners," said Jun Young Kim, President of SKKU.

As part of BASF's global R&D network, the new R&D Center will focus on researching specialty and process chemicals, inorganic materials and formulations for high-performance applications for semiconductors, displays, organic electronics, LEDs and photovoltaics, offering a wide range of innovative solutions for the electronics value chains.

Starting from 2014, around 40 scientific and technical professionals will work at the new R&D facilities. The labs will be located in a building at the Natural Science Campus of SKKU.

BASF is a leading supplier of electronic materials, offering a specialized portfolio of high purity and quality process chemicals as well as dedicated solutions for a range of applications for the electronics industry.