Henkel Joins Holst Centre Research Network on Flexible Electronics

Henkel, the world market leader in adhesives, sealants and surface treatments for consumers, craftsmen and industrial applications, and Holst Centre, an open-innovation initiative by imec and TNO, announce their partnership in the field of flexible electronics. Henkel’s know-how in adhesives brings a new field of expertise to the Holst Centre’s shared research programs. It aligns with a large number of Holst Centre activities, such as the research towards large-area flexible OPV and OLED lighting and signage.

Adhesives with functional properties like electrical conductivity or moisture barrier protection have great potential in future electronics applications. Think about heterogeneous integration of silicon and plastic electronics, or lamination and interconnection of functional foils to form working devices such as flexible solar cells (OPV), OLED lighting devices or flexible displays. Henkel plans to bring many of its technologies to these applications, drawing on expertise in electronics adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives and more.

Within its program on “Integration technologies for flexible systems,” Holst Centre built a track record of generic technologies that can decrease the design complexity of flexible electronic devices and therefore the future cost of fabrication. Henkel adds a new field of expertise to the existing eco-system of industrial partners in the shared research program. Adhesives can potentially impact a large number of the investigated processes.

The partnership allows Henkel to further evaluate and develop its optically clear, electrically conductive and moisture barrier technologies, amongst others, on actual devices and not just on isolated material samples. This makes it more efficient to assess the market readiness of new developments.

“I am really excited about this new partnership with Henkel,” said Jeroen van den Brand, program manager at Holst Centre. “It opens up a lot of new options within our technology roadmap. I am looking forward to see the impact on our existing processes and technology choices. As a leading player in the field, Henkel is an excellent party to make rapid progress towards emerging technologies and applications.”

“This partnership brings for Henkel a great opportunity to evaluate adhesives in real (organic) electronic devices, allows us to create and test new adhesive concepts with technical experts in flexible electronics and key future end-users,” said Thomas Kostka, R&D manager at Henkel. “Our customers will also benefit as this allows Henkel to bring innovative fit-for-use technologies significantly faster to the market.”