David Savastano, Editor01.25.16
It was another year of growth for the flexible and printed electronics (PE) industry. Wearables and sensors are adding new functionality, and many more products are now in the pipeline, reaching the market or nearing commercialization.
Along these lines, some companies set up new partnerships.
In one collaboration, Xerox and Thin Film Electronics partnered on two new projects using Thinfilm Memory. Xerox will produce its Xerox Printed Memory and Xerox Printed Memory with Cryptographic Security at its Webster, NY plant. Among the target markets are supply-chain security applications and anti-counterfeiting capabilities for pharma, governmental tax stamps and refill authentication.
In another example, Enfucell is bringing its SoftBattery thin, flexible printed battery to a powered wireless golf sensor patch, created in conjunction with Qualcomm.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded FlexTech Alliance $75 million in federal funding over a five-year to establish and manage a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) for Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE MII) n San Jose, CA.
The FHE MII includes 96 companies, 11 laboratories and non-profits, 42 universities and 14 state and regional organizations. FlexTech will receive more than $96 million in matching funds from San Jose, industry, universities, states and non-profits.
Mergers and Acquisitions
The flexible and printed electronics industry did not see a lot of merger and acquisition activity in 2015, although there were some exceptions.
In May 2015, Molex announced the acquisition of Soligie, one of the early leaders in printed electronics manufacturing. Molex is a leader in the field of printed circuit boards, and will combine its expertise with Soligie for products ranging from sensors, thin film batteries, RFID, flexible displays, memory and IoT. “Soligie’s business expands our capabilities in the high-growth field of printed electronics,” said Todd Hester, VP and GM, Molex Printed Circuit Products business unit.
With an eye on the display industry, BASF acquired Seashell Technology, a silver nanowire specialist based in San Diego, in March 2015. In November 2015, OLEDWorks finalized its acquisition of Royal Philips’ OLED assets and IP.
On the supplier side, the largest move is the planned merger of DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company. DowDuPont, the combined company, will have approximately $90 billion in sales; the merger is expected to be completed by the second half of 2016. In the semiconductor field, NXP finished its acquisition of Freescale, forming a $10 billion industry leader.
3D Printing and Printed Electronics
3D printing is a really fascinating technology that is drawing a lot of attention right now, and rightfully so. There are major advantages to the technology, particularly in the area of prototyping, which can be less costly and a lot faster.
As 3D printing gains in performance, it will become more mainstream. The ability to print with conductive inks offers 3D and flexible and printed electronics new avenues for growth.
• Nano Dimension showed both its AgCite silver nano inks as well as its new DragonFly 2020 3D Printer for multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB) prototypes.
• Voxel8 showcased its 3D Electronics Printer, which can co-print materials such as thermoplastics and highly conductive silver inks.
• PV Nano Cell received the IDTechEx award for Best Development in Materials for 3D Printing for its Sicrys single-crystal, nanometric, metal-based, conductive inks, which are being used in major 3D printers.
As we close the books on 2015, it was another good year for flexible and printed electronics, which bodes well for the coming year.
Flexible and printed electronics (PE) manufacturers are making further gains in terms of commercialization, and more products are reaching the market. In 2015, a host of new products are moving forward, and will impact further development.
Here is Printed Electronics Now’s Most Intriguing Printed Electronics Products of 2015 list, a look at five technologies that have either reached commercialization or are near.
In alphabetical order:
• There is seemingly no shortage of portable solar products, but ARMOR SAS’s Orion system is unique. The recipient of the Best Product Development Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2015, Orion is an OPV module that is fully integrated within the core of a lamp. It can be unrolled easily for charging the battery and rolled up manually within the lamp. Part of the Beautiful Light Project, the Orion prototype can deliver up to 8W peak power.
• Debuting at CES 2015, Blue Spark Technologies’ TempTraq is a wearable wireless Bluetooth thermometer in the form of a soft patch. Powered by a printed battery, it’s the first thermometer to continuously monitor body temperature for 24 hours, and can send alerts to mobile devices through the free TempTraq app. TempTraq also allows users to send recorded information via email to doctors or family members.
There are plenty of opportunities for TempTraq; potentially,. TempTraq can be used in hospitals and medical facilities as well.
It has been named a CES 2016 Innovation Awards Honoree in two categories: Fitness, Sports and Biotech; and Wearable Technologies.
• Thin Film Electronics has moved ahead with its flexible,thin OpenSense NFC-enabled labels, with Diageo a particularly interesting end-use case. Diageo’s brands include whiskeys (Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal and J&B, among others); vodkas (Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One); Captain Morgan rum, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray gin and Guinness.
By applying OpenSense labels on Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Diageo can generate new opportunities to connect with customers, whether it is offering specific deals gathering data providing targeted marketing or drink recipes. It also allows the brand owner to track the bottles though the supply chain. Diageo recently placed a five-digit pilot order with Thinfilm for the OpenSense labels.
• OLED lighting is beginning to make gains in the automotive market, with BMW and Audi already showing design concepts. OSRAM showcased its demonstrator tail lights, during LOPEC 2015, with CEO Marc Lünnemann predicting that the first OLED application will be on tail lights, followed by interior lighting, stop light indicators and accent lighting. OSRAM showed its OLED designs at a variety of shows during 2015, including CES 2015, and expects to reach the market in 2016.
•T he recipient of numerous awards, including the 2016 BabyTech Award, Mimo Smart Baby Monitor’s sensor technology allows parents to monitor their sleeping baby’s temperature, breathing, body position and activity level. MIMO Baby sends alerts and nightly reports, and connects to smartphones.
Engineered Materials Systems, Division of Nagase & Company, developed stretchable conductive ink for Mimo, which received the Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2015.
Along these lines, some companies set up new partnerships.
In one collaboration, Xerox and Thin Film Electronics partnered on two new projects using Thinfilm Memory. Xerox will produce its Xerox Printed Memory and Xerox Printed Memory with Cryptographic Security at its Webster, NY plant. Among the target markets are supply-chain security applications and anti-counterfeiting capabilities for pharma, governmental tax stamps and refill authentication.
In another example, Enfucell is bringing its SoftBattery thin, flexible printed battery to a powered wireless golf sensor patch, created in conjunction with Qualcomm.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded FlexTech Alliance $75 million in federal funding over a five-year to establish and manage a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) for Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE MII) n San Jose, CA.
The FHE MII includes 96 companies, 11 laboratories and non-profits, 42 universities and 14 state and regional organizations. FlexTech will receive more than $96 million in matching funds from San Jose, industry, universities, states and non-profits.
Mergers and Acquisitions
The flexible and printed electronics industry did not see a lot of merger and acquisition activity in 2015, although there were some exceptions.
In May 2015, Molex announced the acquisition of Soligie, one of the early leaders in printed electronics manufacturing. Molex is a leader in the field of printed circuit boards, and will combine its expertise with Soligie for products ranging from sensors, thin film batteries, RFID, flexible displays, memory and IoT. “Soligie’s business expands our capabilities in the high-growth field of printed electronics,” said Todd Hester, VP and GM, Molex Printed Circuit Products business unit.
With an eye on the display industry, BASF acquired Seashell Technology, a silver nanowire specialist based in San Diego, in March 2015. In November 2015, OLEDWorks finalized its acquisition of Royal Philips’ OLED assets and IP.
On the supplier side, the largest move is the planned merger of DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company. DowDuPont, the combined company, will have approximately $90 billion in sales; the merger is expected to be completed by the second half of 2016. In the semiconductor field, NXP finished its acquisition of Freescale, forming a $10 billion industry leader.
3D Printing and Printed Electronics
3D printing is a really fascinating technology that is drawing a lot of attention right now, and rightfully so. There are major advantages to the technology, particularly in the area of prototyping, which can be less costly and a lot faster.
As 3D printing gains in performance, it will become more mainstream. The ability to print with conductive inks offers 3D and flexible and printed electronics new avenues for growth.
• Nano Dimension showed both its AgCite silver nano inks as well as its new DragonFly 2020 3D Printer for multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB) prototypes.
• Voxel8 showcased its 3D Electronics Printer, which can co-print materials such as thermoplastics and highly conductive silver inks.
• PV Nano Cell received the IDTechEx award for Best Development in Materials for 3D Printing for its Sicrys single-crystal, nanometric, metal-based, conductive inks, which are being used in major 3D printers.
As we close the books on 2015, it was another good year for flexible and printed electronics, which bodes well for the coming year.
Flexible and printed electronics (PE) manufacturers are making further gains in terms of commercialization, and more products are reaching the market. In 2015, a host of new products are moving forward, and will impact further development.
Here is Printed Electronics Now’s Most Intriguing Printed Electronics Products of 2015 list, a look at five technologies that have either reached commercialization or are near.
In alphabetical order:
• There is seemingly no shortage of portable solar products, but ARMOR SAS’s Orion system is unique. The recipient of the Best Product Development Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2015, Orion is an OPV module that is fully integrated within the core of a lamp. It can be unrolled easily for charging the battery and rolled up manually within the lamp. Part of the Beautiful Light Project, the Orion prototype can deliver up to 8W peak power.
• Debuting at CES 2015, Blue Spark Technologies’ TempTraq is a wearable wireless Bluetooth thermometer in the form of a soft patch. Powered by a printed battery, it’s the first thermometer to continuously monitor body temperature for 24 hours, and can send alerts to mobile devices through the free TempTraq app. TempTraq also allows users to send recorded information via email to doctors or family members.
There are plenty of opportunities for TempTraq; potentially,. TempTraq can be used in hospitals and medical facilities as well.
It has been named a CES 2016 Innovation Awards Honoree in two categories: Fitness, Sports and Biotech; and Wearable Technologies.
• Thin Film Electronics has moved ahead with its flexible,thin OpenSense NFC-enabled labels, with Diageo a particularly interesting end-use case. Diageo’s brands include whiskeys (Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal and J&B, among others); vodkas (Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One); Captain Morgan rum, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray gin and Guinness.
By applying OpenSense labels on Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Diageo can generate new opportunities to connect with customers, whether it is offering specific deals gathering data providing targeted marketing or drink recipes. It also allows the brand owner to track the bottles though the supply chain. Diageo recently placed a five-digit pilot order with Thinfilm for the OpenSense labels.
• OLED lighting is beginning to make gains in the automotive market, with BMW and Audi already showing design concepts. OSRAM showcased its demonstrator tail lights, during LOPEC 2015, with CEO Marc Lünnemann predicting that the first OLED application will be on tail lights, followed by interior lighting, stop light indicators and accent lighting. OSRAM showed its OLED designs at a variety of shows during 2015, including CES 2015, and expects to reach the market in 2016.
•T he recipient of numerous awards, including the 2016 BabyTech Award, Mimo Smart Baby Monitor’s sensor technology allows parents to monitor their sleeping baby’s temperature, breathing, body position and activity level. MIMO Baby sends alerts and nightly reports, and connects to smartphones.
Engineered Materials Systems, Division of Nagase & Company, developed stretchable conductive ink for Mimo, which received the Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2015.