Printed Electronics: The Hot Topics

By Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx   

On 3-4 April, IDTechEx is hosting its 8^th annual Printed Electronics Europe event in Berlin, Germany. The event focus is on the commercialisation of printed electronics, with adopters from many verticals discussing their needs and experiences. 

 

www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com

Also covered in the 100+ speaker conference program are the hottest technology topics. Experts from industry and academia will present their work followed by panel debate and discussion. Sessions include the following topics, reflecting the hottest current topics in the industry.

OLED versus LED lighting

It has taken twenty years for LED lighting to become 3% of the total $80 Billion global lighting market, but it is now on the exponential growth, appearing in car headlights to home lighting to street lighting. What is the impact on OLED lighting? Will those in OLED lighting achieve efficiencies, yield and lifetimes fast enough before LED becomes ingrained? Printing is already being applied to LED lighting for connectors and even printing LEDs themselves. Others are mounting LEDs on flex. But will the thermal problems restrict the applicability of LED lighting on flexible substrates, paving the way for OLED lighting there? Who is investing in OLED lighting manufacturing? Hear the lighting developers debate the topic at this event.

Energy Storage Gold Rush

Battery technology had progressed incredibly slowly over the last 100 years compared to other electronics and electrics. Now the development of energy storage technology has accelerated – due to government stimulus and industry demand for electric vehicles, local energy storage for renewables as part of the smart grid, long life energy storage for consumer electronics, and powering printed electronics components. New form factor batteries are available. Printed materials and laminar films have many opportunities in energy storage – including printed batteries but beyond that to improving conventional batteries, capacitors and supercapacitors – even those that scale up to the sizes of cars. Hear about the market needs, opportunity and technology progress at this event.

Replacing ITO

Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is still about 95% of the $3.5 billion transparent conductive film market. Indium is subject to supply restriction and its price has varied by a magnitude in the last ten years. It is required primarily for photovoltaics, displays and touch screen applications – enormous sectors. Alternatives to ITO include transparent organic materials, finely printed conductive mesh, and other ways of patterning metal strands. Some even use copper to reduce cost. Others are progressing carbon nanotubes and grapheme as a viable alternative. Do all these choices have a market and what is their opportunity? Contrast the specifications – including hearing from those using ITO - to piece together the opportunity at this event.

Attendees will hear from some of the World's largest organisations including: 

• United Technologies Research Center - $52 Billion Aerospace/Infrastructure company
• Procter & Gamble - $82 Billion Consumer Brands company
• Metro Stores - €67 Billion Consumer Goods Retailer company
• Schneider Electric - €20 Billion Electrics/Electronics company
• Samsung - $220 Billion Consumer Electronics company
• Nokia - €42 Billion Consumer Electronics company
• Panasonic - €83 Billion Consumer Electronics company
• Abbot Diagnostics - $35 Billion Healthcare company

These are just some of the highlighted topics that will be aired at the IDTechEx Printed Electronics Europe event. Register by February 29^th and save 30% - go to www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com

To be involved in a first class networking platform where you have multiple opportunities to meet with end users, manufacturers and system integrators, see www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com  or email c.clare@IDTechEx.com.

For information on press passes or media partnerships for any IDTechEx event – contact Cara Harrington at c.harrington@IDTechEx.com

About the author: Raghu Das MA (Cantab) is CEO of IDTechEx. He has an MA Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge University, where he studied physics. He has been closely involved with the development of RFID, printed electronics, energy harvesting and electric vehicles for over ten years, carrying out consultancy in Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East. He has lectured on these topics at over 300 events and conferences around the world and is author of several IDTechEx publications.

Upcoming Events:

Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea & Air USA 2011 | March 27-28 | San Jose, CA | www.IDTechEx.com/evUSA

Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics Europe 2012 | 3-4 April | Berlin, Germany| www.PrintedElectronicsEurope.com

Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe 2012 | 15-16 May | Berlin, Germany | www.IDTechEx.com/eh  

Wireless Sensor Networks & RTLS Europe 2012 | 15-16 May | Berlin, Germany | www.IDTechEx.com/eh  

Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics Asia 2012 | October 3-4 | Tokyo, Japan | www.PrintedElectronicsAsia.com   

Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics USA 2012 | December 5-6 | Santa Clara, CA | www.PrintedElectronicsUSA.com  

Featured Report:

"Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2011-2021"

This report provides the most comprehensive view of the topic, giving detailed ten year forecasts by device type. The market is analyzed by territory, printed vs non printed, rigid vs flexible, inorganic vs organic, cost of materials vs process cost and much more, with over 200 tables and figures. Activities of over 1000 leading companies are given.

The report specifically addresses the big picture - including all thin film photovoltaics, relevant display technologies and much more. Importantly, it includes not only electronics which are printed, organic and/or flexible now, but it also covers those that will be. Realistic timescales, case studies, existing products and the emergence of new products are given, as are impediments and opportunities for the years to come.

Details at: www.IDTechEx.com/pe