OE-A at LOPEC: Innovation in the Spotlight

Large-area LED tiled lighting/signage with printed flexible interconnections. (© TracXon B.V., Netherlands; Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG., Germany)

Papertronics empowered by biofuel cells. (© BeFC SAS, France)

The OE-A Competition 2025 takes center stage at LOPEC—the leading international exhibition and conference for cutting-edge flexible, organic, and printed electronics. From Feb. 25-27, 2025, in Munich, more than 20 projects and products will be showcasing this rapidly evolving technology.

“The innovative projects and products showcased in the OE-A Competition 2025 align perfectly with the LOPEC’s focus topics of Smart Living and Mobility in Munich. These products, ideas and solutions demonstrate how printed electronics is driving advancements in sustainable technologies that enhance our daily lives and redefine modern transportation” said Dr. Klaus Hecker, managing director of the OE-A, an international working group within VDMA. The OE-A is the leading international industry association for the emerging technology of flexible, organic, and printed electronics.

This year, 22 projects from global companies, research institutions, and universities will compete in the OE-A Competition 2025, showcasing groundbreaking ideas. A distinguished jury of experts from leading international organizations will evaluate the submissions across three categories: “Prototypes & New Products,” “Freestyle Demonstrator,” and “Publicly Funded Project Demonstrator.”

Leading the Way through Innovation

The idea of Smart Living and Mobility takes center stage at this year’s OE-A Competition, with projects designed to enable more sustainable products.

“This year, we received over 20 submissions, and it’s incredibly exciting to witness the increasing number of projects that are already in the market or nearing market readiness. Watching this progress year after year is truly a pleasure,” said Hecker.

Here’s a preview of three of the standout projects:
• BeFC in France has developed an organic, compostable fuel cell as metal-free paper-based battery. Inspired by nature, the innovative design uses enzymes to convert sugar molecules, such as glucose, and oxygen into electricity, powering next-generation microelectronics.

Combining paper-based batteries with circuit boards opens exciting possibilities for sustainable energy harvesting and green electronics, serving diverse markets like IoT and healthcare. This technology enables data collection, including temperature and humidity, and supports communication via Bluetooth or NFC. The product contains a minimal amount of recyclable semiconductors, while the rest of the device is designed for industrial composting.

• The cooperation of TracXon and Lohmann, based in the Netherlands and Germany, takes part in the competition with a tiled lighting and signage solution. A new customizable tiled lighting and signage device offers an easy-to-install, lightweight, and transportable solution for large areas.

Designed for versatility, the device can wrap around curved surfaces like pillars, enabling smart surface applications for expositions, concerts, and other events. The demonstrator uses hybrid printed electronics to overcome the limitations of traditional PCB technology. This innovative solution uses a fully additive process, ensuring greater sustainability while enabling robust, flexible, and foldable interconnects to seamlessly connect components.

• A smart hydrogen tank designed to detect mechanical impacts and monitor its structural health in real time comes from Arkema Piezotech in France. This project helps to improve the safety of transporting high-pressure hydrogen. The smart hydrogen tank utilizes a network of advanced piezoelectric sensors to detect mechanical impacts and monitor tank health in real time.

Composite overwrapped pressure vessels, widely used for storing hydrogen at high pressures can suffer damage under stress, such as fiber rupture or matrix cracking. The new system addresses this challenge by attaching a sensor network to the tank’s surface. These sensors listen to “acoustic signals”—or can “scream”— when the tank is stressed. The use of printed electronics ensures a lightweight, robust system with fewer cables for improved reliability.