Dave Savastano, Editor01.23.15
In 2014, the flexible and printed electronics industry completed a year in which there was more of a move toward commercialization of products, with new markets taking center stage. Industry leaders report that more end users are coming to them with potential products than ever before.
In particular, the wearables market is drawing a lot of attention from consumers, and there are opportunities for flexible and printed electronics in this field. 3-D printing is also gaining much interest. Meanwhile, older markets such as medical sensors (glucose testing strips, for example) remain sizable, while sensors for areas such as food packaging look promising. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) seem to be picking up, as are OLED and flexible displays and touch screens.
In many ways, the industry is growing. The major conferences – IDTechEx’s Printed Electronics Europe and Printed Electronics USA and the OE-A’s LOPEC – continue to grow significantly in terms of attendees and exhibitors.
Sensors, RFID and NFC tags have been particularly interesting. Thinfilm is working with a number of major suppliers on food packaging sensors and NFC tags. Smartrac Group (RFID tags), ASSA ABLOY (NFC sensors for doors) and Confidex (RFID) are among the companies making headway in this field.
There is more money flowing into the industry from venture capital groups and major corporations. We are seeing a lot of interesting collaborations between companies in various parts of the supply chain, with equipment manufacturers working closely with material suppliers and product designers.
There have been other strategic investments announced for leading PE innovators, including silver nanowire manufacturer Cambrios Technologies ($10 million from Samsung Ventures); printed battery manufacture Imprint Energy ($6 million, led by Phoenix Venture Partners). RFID specialist Alien Technology received $35 million.
Solar companies have been receiving funding, with OPV manufacturers Heliatek ($23 million from ACTON, Bosch, BASF) and Eight19 ($1.6 million) among those gaining investments. Ascent Solar, a thin film solar company, received $8 million in late 2014. There were also significant investments in materials and equipment manufacturers.
Interestingly, there was not a lot of merger activity this year in the field. Perhaps the most interesting acquisition came in January 2014, when Thin Film Electronics acquired Kovio’s printed NFC technology, IP and manufacturing assets for $3.7 million. Thinfilm is developing new systems using the NFC inks and tags.
A few conductive ink and materials manufacturers were acquired or departed during 2014. Peratech Limited, which developed quantum tunnelling composite (QTC) materials, entered administration in January 2014.
After commencing Chapter 11 proceedings in January 2014, Plextronics was acquired by Solvay in March; Solvay cited Plextroncs’ OLED materials technology as a benefit. Also in March, NovaCentrix acquired the assets of PChem Associates, which has developed nano silver ink technology for flexo and screen printing.
“The PChem nano silver flexo and screen inks have been well known for offering the best conductivity at the lowest cost,“ said Charles Munson, NovaCentrix CEO and president. “Combined with our existing and soon-to-be-released Metalon-brand ink products, as well as the state-of-the-art PulseForge photonic curing tools, we are better positioned than ever before to serve our customers as a leader in the printed electronics community.”
March also saw the announcement of a partnership between Sun Chemical, the world’s largest ink manufacturer, and T+ink, a leading innovator in printed electronics. The partnership, T+Sun, will develop conductive ink solutions, including the Touchcode systems T+ink had previously acquired from Printechnologics. Sun Chemical has the global connections with brand owners and printers as well as manufacturing and conductive ink experience, while T+ink has worked with Ford, General Motors, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart, among others – to commercialize products over the years.
“T+ink has developed a strong foundation of creating working devices that enable functionality and enhance the consumer experience at the package level, and Sun Chemical has world class materials and capability in R&D and global support in electronic materials,” said Roy Bjorlin, commercial director, Electronic Materials, Sun Chemical. “The combination was a natural fit.”
A few solar manufacturers were either purchased or on the verge of being acquired. REC Solar ASA announced it will be acquired by Bluestar Elkem, which is headquartered in Hong Kong. Hanergy Holding Group Limited acquired Alta Devices, whose flexible thin film gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar technology has a conversion efficiency of 30.8%.
There is much going on among research groups and universities, with new announcements of successes in the lab. Research organizations such as CPI, imec and Holst Centre, to name a few, have launched promising new initiatives, and European programs such as MUJULIMA (OPV) and COLAE (Large Area Organic Electronics) are reporting gains in technology. Whether these efforts will ultimately translate into commercial usage remains to be seen.
Most Intriguing Printed Electronics Products of 2014
As the industry continues to grow, there are products coming forward that are earning attention and success in the commercial marketplace. Here, in alphabetical order, are five technologies that have drawn interest and/or recognition.
• cynora GmbH: Singlet Harvesting technology
cynora specializes in the R&D of innovative functional organic semiconductor materials for OLEDs, which will allow OLEDs to be printed as foils just like newspapers, using inkjet or slot-die-coating. cynora has received numerous awards in recent years, most notably the prestigious Falling Walls Science Startup of the Year 2013. Most recently, the company received the German Raw Material Efficiency Award 2014 from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for “Platinum and Iridium-free, optoelectronic materials for Material-Efficient use in OLEDs.” The company has been developing Singlet Harvesting technology, which makes it possible to manufacture efficient OLED components without very rare heavy metals that are currently being used.
• Heliatek GmbH: HeliaFilms organic solar film
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have taken a longer time than expected to take off commercially, but a few companies are starting to reach the market. Heliatek GmbH has placed its HeliaFilms into a few building integrated organic photvolatic installations (BIOPV), including its Dresden headquarters and Reckli China’s facility in Pudong, China. Heliatek is poised to move ahead in the coming year, having successfully completed its C-Financing round of €18 million in September 2014 and signing a joint development agreement with AGC Glass Europe, the European branch of AGC, the world’s largest producer of flat glass.
• Iontera: Biobliss cosmetic patch
The recipient of Printed Electronics Europe 2014 Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx, Iontera is a specialist in transdermal drug delivery systems. Working with Blue Spark Technologies, Iontera has successfully commercialized its flexible, disposable Biobliss cosmetic wrinkle reducing patch on Home Shopping Network as well as major U.S. retailers. Blue Spark’s printed batteries as well as conductive materials create a micro-current that enables dermatologist-approved anti-wrinkle ingredients to reduce wrinkles and crow’s feet. Biobliss’ materials are produced through roll-to-roll screenprinting.
• Kent Displays, Inc.: The Boogie Board Sync eWriter
Kent Displays, Inc. has received critical and commercial success with its line flexible Boogie Board eWriters. The Boogie Board utilizes a pressure sensitive LCD writing surface that allows the user to draw or write memos, which they can store or transmit. After first appearing on Amazon in December 2013, the company reportedly sold out its first year production. As a result, of its success, Kent Displays received the Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2014.
• Ynvisible: Printoo
One challenge for PE manufacturers is getting engineers and designers a full array of products to develop. Utilizing a Kickstarter campaign that achieved four times its goal, Ynvisble and its partners put together a supply kit for product developers to utilize, including printed batteries, flexible displays and lighting. The partners include Ynvisible (electrochromic display and display driver technology), Blue Spark and Enfucell (printed batteries), Mekoprint (polymer solar cells), VTT (LED strips), Smartrac (RFID tags), LunaLEC (segmented displays) and ISORG (Organic Photodetector Slider) It has received much critical recognition, being named to EDN’s Hot 100 Products of 2014. n
In particular, the wearables market is drawing a lot of attention from consumers, and there are opportunities for flexible and printed electronics in this field. 3-D printing is also gaining much interest. Meanwhile, older markets such as medical sensors (glucose testing strips, for example) remain sizable, while sensors for areas such as food packaging look promising. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) seem to be picking up, as are OLED and flexible displays and touch screens.
In many ways, the industry is growing. The major conferences – IDTechEx’s Printed Electronics Europe and Printed Electronics USA and the OE-A’s LOPEC – continue to grow significantly in terms of attendees and exhibitors.
Sensors, RFID and NFC tags have been particularly interesting. Thinfilm is working with a number of major suppliers on food packaging sensors and NFC tags. Smartrac Group (RFID tags), ASSA ABLOY (NFC sensors for doors) and Confidex (RFID) are among the companies making headway in this field.
There is more money flowing into the industry from venture capital groups and major corporations. We are seeing a lot of interesting collaborations between companies in various parts of the supply chain, with equipment manufacturers working closely with material suppliers and product designers.
There have been other strategic investments announced for leading PE innovators, including silver nanowire manufacturer Cambrios Technologies ($10 million from Samsung Ventures); printed battery manufacture Imprint Energy ($6 million, led by Phoenix Venture Partners). RFID specialist Alien Technology received $35 million.
Solar companies have been receiving funding, with OPV manufacturers Heliatek ($23 million from ACTON, Bosch, BASF) and Eight19 ($1.6 million) among those gaining investments. Ascent Solar, a thin film solar company, received $8 million in late 2014. There were also significant investments in materials and equipment manufacturers.
Interestingly, there was not a lot of merger activity this year in the field. Perhaps the most interesting acquisition came in January 2014, when Thin Film Electronics acquired Kovio’s printed NFC technology, IP and manufacturing assets for $3.7 million. Thinfilm is developing new systems using the NFC inks and tags.
A few conductive ink and materials manufacturers were acquired or departed during 2014. Peratech Limited, which developed quantum tunnelling composite (QTC) materials, entered administration in January 2014.
After commencing Chapter 11 proceedings in January 2014, Plextronics was acquired by Solvay in March; Solvay cited Plextroncs’ OLED materials technology as a benefit. Also in March, NovaCentrix acquired the assets of PChem Associates, which has developed nano silver ink technology for flexo and screen printing.
“The PChem nano silver flexo and screen inks have been well known for offering the best conductivity at the lowest cost,“ said Charles Munson, NovaCentrix CEO and president. “Combined with our existing and soon-to-be-released Metalon-brand ink products, as well as the state-of-the-art PulseForge photonic curing tools, we are better positioned than ever before to serve our customers as a leader in the printed electronics community.”
March also saw the announcement of a partnership between Sun Chemical, the world’s largest ink manufacturer, and T+ink, a leading innovator in printed electronics. The partnership, T+Sun, will develop conductive ink solutions, including the Touchcode systems T+ink had previously acquired from Printechnologics. Sun Chemical has the global connections with brand owners and printers as well as manufacturing and conductive ink experience, while T+ink has worked with Ford, General Motors, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart, among others – to commercialize products over the years.
“T+ink has developed a strong foundation of creating working devices that enable functionality and enhance the consumer experience at the package level, and Sun Chemical has world class materials and capability in R&D and global support in electronic materials,” said Roy Bjorlin, commercial director, Electronic Materials, Sun Chemical. “The combination was a natural fit.”
A few solar manufacturers were either purchased or on the verge of being acquired. REC Solar ASA announced it will be acquired by Bluestar Elkem, which is headquartered in Hong Kong. Hanergy Holding Group Limited acquired Alta Devices, whose flexible thin film gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar technology has a conversion efficiency of 30.8%.
There is much going on among research groups and universities, with new announcements of successes in the lab. Research organizations such as CPI, imec and Holst Centre, to name a few, have launched promising new initiatives, and European programs such as MUJULIMA (OPV) and COLAE (Large Area Organic Electronics) are reporting gains in technology. Whether these efforts will ultimately translate into commercial usage remains to be seen.
Most Intriguing Printed Electronics Products of 2014
As the industry continues to grow, there are products coming forward that are earning attention and success in the commercial marketplace. Here, in alphabetical order, are five technologies that have drawn interest and/or recognition.
• cynora GmbH: Singlet Harvesting technology
cynora specializes in the R&D of innovative functional organic semiconductor materials for OLEDs, which will allow OLEDs to be printed as foils just like newspapers, using inkjet or slot-die-coating. cynora has received numerous awards in recent years, most notably the prestigious Falling Walls Science Startup of the Year 2013. Most recently, the company received the German Raw Material Efficiency Award 2014 from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for “Platinum and Iridium-free, optoelectronic materials for Material-Efficient use in OLEDs.” The company has been developing Singlet Harvesting technology, which makes it possible to manufacture efficient OLED components without very rare heavy metals that are currently being used.
• Heliatek GmbH: HeliaFilms organic solar film
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have taken a longer time than expected to take off commercially, but a few companies are starting to reach the market. Heliatek GmbH has placed its HeliaFilms into a few building integrated organic photvolatic installations (BIOPV), including its Dresden headquarters and Reckli China’s facility in Pudong, China. Heliatek is poised to move ahead in the coming year, having successfully completed its C-Financing round of €18 million in September 2014 and signing a joint development agreement with AGC Glass Europe, the European branch of AGC, the world’s largest producer of flat glass.
• Iontera: Biobliss cosmetic patch
The recipient of Printed Electronics Europe 2014 Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx, Iontera is a specialist in transdermal drug delivery systems. Working with Blue Spark Technologies, Iontera has successfully commercialized its flexible, disposable Biobliss cosmetic wrinkle reducing patch on Home Shopping Network as well as major U.S. retailers. Blue Spark’s printed batteries as well as conductive materials create a micro-current that enables dermatologist-approved anti-wrinkle ingredients to reduce wrinkles and crow’s feet. Biobliss’ materials are produced through roll-to-roll screenprinting.
• Kent Displays, Inc.: The Boogie Board Sync eWriter
Kent Displays, Inc. has received critical and commercial success with its line flexible Boogie Board eWriters. The Boogie Board utilizes a pressure sensitive LCD writing surface that allows the user to draw or write memos, which they can store or transmit. After first appearing on Amazon in December 2013, the company reportedly sold out its first year production. As a result, of its success, Kent Displays received the Best Commercialization Award from IDTechEx during Printed Electronics USA 2014.
• Ynvisible: Printoo
One challenge for PE manufacturers is getting engineers and designers a full array of products to develop. Utilizing a Kickstarter campaign that achieved four times its goal, Ynvisble and its partners put together a supply kit for product developers to utilize, including printed batteries, flexible displays and lighting. The partners include Ynvisible (electrochromic display and display driver technology), Blue Spark and Enfucell (printed batteries), Mekoprint (polymer solar cells), VTT (LED strips), Smartrac (RFID tags), LunaLEC (segmented displays) and ISORG (Organic Photodetector Slider) It has received much critical recognition, being named to EDN’s Hot 100 Products of 2014. n