Nanoco signs deal with Merck for use of quantum dot technology

(Reuters) - British quantum dots maker Nanoco Group Plc said it had entered into a non-exclusive licence deal with Merck for the German drugmaker to use its technology in digital displays, sending its shares up as much as 10 percent.

Nanoco has been hunting for a new licensing deal for the past few months since it switched from exclusive to non-exclusive its deal with Dow Chemical Co for commercial production of quantum dots to be used in digital displays.

Under the license, Merck would be able to immediately start marketing Nanoco's cadmium-free quantum dots and ultimately establish its own production facility, Nanoco said in a statement on Monday.

The British firm did not disclose the financial details of the deal, but said it would receive a licence fee and royalties on Merck's sales of the Nanoco cadmium-free quantum dots manufactured.

Quantum dots are semiconductor crystals 10,000 times finer than a human hair. They convert electrical energy into light and can be manipulated to produce precise colours, and are mostly used in television sets.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)