Printed Electronics – Common Ground for Industry and Science

The White Paper “OE-A Roadmap for Organic and Printed Electronics,” 7th Edition, looks ahead at the future and presents key trends, various application examples and challenges in the field of organic and printed electronics.
 
The 100-page Roadmap compiled by the OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association), a working group within VDMA, shows findings in the following fields of application: organic LED (OLED) Lighting, organic photovoltaics (OPV), flexible and OLED displays, electronics and components, and integrated smart systems. The document also provides an overview of materials and substrates, as well as printing processes and other production techniques.
 
The OE-A Roadmap White Paper shows that the organic and printed electronics technology has established a firm foothold in important application industries. From Internet of Things, consumer electronics and healthcare to automotive and smart packaging as well as buildings, printed electronics is now being globally applied in numerous products and across many sectors.
 
With the increasing use of this technology, a shift is taking place from “technological push” to “market pull.” This is being defined by the needs of the end users. The main reason for this is that printed electronics offers concrete advantages in the areas of integration, costs and design, in comparison to conventional electronics.
 
“The OE-A Roadmap provides an important foundation for the development and product planning for industry, politics and science,” said Dr. Stephan Kirchmeyer, co-author of the OE-A Roadmap as well as relations and marketing manager at COPT Center. “The White Paper shows, beside the short-, medium-, and long-term forecasts, that printed electronics has already arrived in our daily lives.”
 
A summary of the 7th edition of the OE-A Roadmap for Organic and Printed Electronics is included in the new OE-A Brochure. The “White Paper: OE-A Roadmap for Organic and Printed Electronics”, containing more details about the applications and technologies, is available at www.oe-a.org/roadmap.