BluGlass Ltd will focus on proving that its technology to cut the cost of manufacturing gallium nitride is commercially viable after making a strong debut on the Australian Stock Exchange.

BluGlass shares opened at 28.5 cents, well above the initial offer price of 20 cents each.

They closed at 31.5 cents, up 11.5 cents or 57.5 per cent on high turnover of 8.3 million shares.

BluGlass raised $10 million in the offer, which was expanded after being oversubscribed.

Gallium nitride is a semiconductor material whose applications include high-brightness light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used in the backlighting of mobile phones.

The material can also be used in large video displays, automotive instrument lighting, general lighting and traffic lights.

BluGlass says that its technology has the potential to significantly cut the cost of making gallium nitride, which it describes as the most commercially important semiconductor material since silicon.

The gallium nitride market has grown from $US25 million in 1994 to $US3.2 billion in 2004 and is expected to grow to as much as $US6 billion by 2009.

BluGlass chief executive David Jordan said he was very encouraged by the response of local and overseas investors, and the company had a strong cash position to continue development of its technology.

Our immediate focus is to resource the technology team, to prove out the technology at the progressive stages of commercialisation, he said.

We have developed and established the base process, proven the functioning capability of the material with the new (manufacturing) process.

What we have to do now is take that to commercial demonstration.

Mr Jordan said BluGlass would continue to develop prototype equipment, develop commercial equipment and put it into a pilot production facility in Sydney.

We are well advanced on all of those fronts, he said.

Mr Jordan said the company would move into the pilot production plant early in the new year and would spend 18 months to two years to prove that its technology had commercial production capability.

Mr Jordan said the company would be looking for a global partner.