Quantum Materials Corp. (fka QTMM)

[TedJ]

Solar cell production. From the 10-Q:

In October 2008, Solterra entered into a license agreement with the University of Arizona, which was later amended, (the “UA License”) pursuant to which Solterra has been granted exclusive rights to use the University of Arizona’s patented screen-printing techniques in the production and sale of organic light emitting diodes (“OLEDs”) incorporating QDs in printed electronic displays and other printed electronic components. This technology was developed at University of Arizona by Dr. Ghassan Jabbour, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors.

From QMC website:

Our third generation quantum dot solar cells do not require custom made, expensive ,nor complex, processing equipment, and we do not use costly silicon or rare earth elements such as indium. Solterra instead will rely on low-cost screen printing and/or inkjet techniques applied to inexpensive substrates. Quantum Dot Solar Cells have extremely high potential efficiency, having demonstrated the production of multiple excitons from a single electron.

From Solerra website http://www.solterrasolarcells.com/innovation/flexographicprinting.php:

Automated Flexographic Printing

Next-generation quantum dot solar cell factories will use new thin-film flexographic roll-to-roll printing methods at a fraction of the capital expenditure of same-size silicon panel factories. Advantages of the flexographic method include the ability to potentially increase printing press speeds of up to 600 meters/minute with modern printers, large rolls that can be cut to finished size, low viscosity ink formulations for faster drying and the ability to bond layers of the solar cell together in-line. Production can be scaled-up by increasing the running speed without a large increase in infrastructure costs and is a major factor in lowering the levelized cost of energy over the life of the production system.

Basics from wiki:

A flexographic print is made by creating a positive mirrored master of the required image as a 3D relief in a rubber or polymer material. Flexographic plates can be created with analog and digital platemaking processes. The image areas are raised above the non image areas on the rubber or polymer plate. The ink is transferred from the ink roll which is partially immersed in the ink tank. Then it transfers to the anilox or ceramic roll (or meter roll) whose texture holds a specific amount of ink since it is covered with thousands of small wells or cups that enable it to meter ink to the printing plate in a uniform thickness evenly and quickly (the number of cells per linear inch can vary according to the type of print job and the quality required).[5] To avoid getting a final product with a smudgy or lumpy look, it must be ensured that the amount of ink on the printing plate is not excessive. This is achieved by using a scraper, called a doctor blade. The doctor blade removes excess ink from the anilox roller before inking the printing plate. The substrate is finally sandwiched between the plate and the impression cylinder to transfer the image.[6] The sheet is then fed through a dryer, which allows the inks to dry before the surface is touched again. If a UV-curing ink is used, the sheet does not have to be dried, but the ink is cured by UV rays instead.

It appears to me that QMC may have completely evolved away from the AU patented screen printing method to flexographic printing, or they could be applying some technical aspects of the AU method to the new print method. Don't know at this point in time.

If a complete change, then the AU 2% royalty licensing agreement may get dropped like the Rice tetrapod license agreement was. This would cancel the $50,000 and the $125,000 minimum royalty payments due to AU in Jan. and June of 2019.

I doubt that there would be a formal announcement, but the license commitment would simply disappear from the 10-Qs, like the Rice agreement disappeared.