Netherlands-based start-up NeoDec recently announced it will work with the Holst Centre to prepare its conductive ink for a commercial smart packaging partnership.
The company is using its agreement with the R&D centre, announced earlier in April, as a means of validating the conductivity and processing of its ink.
NeoDec is already in contact with a smart packaging developer that is looking to integrate electronic functions into packaging. Potential applications include sensing if packaging has been compromised and tagging a product electronically, for instance with RFID antennas.
The conductive ink, currently suitable for inkjet printing, is being prepared for commercial-scale screen printing. It will be ready for use by commercial partners in 2010, says NeoDec CTO Joost Valeton.
'For market use, we want to go to screen printing, as inkjet technology won't be suitable,' he remarks.
'We're converting the ink formulation to be suitable for screen printing. We will be optimising it in the coming months and it should be ready by the end of the year, maybe by the end of Q3 2010.'
The ink will then be ready to supply trials or commercial production for companies already in contact with NeoDec.
'We have interest from a large company that has a new division on smart packaging. It wants to print at very low cost on polymer substrates, and it has components that cannot be heated above room temperature, so it has a requirement for nanoinks,' adds Valeton.
OLEDs
Further applications will also be possible once the ink's conductivity has been improved, says Valeton.
He explains: 'The conductivity we get now - 10% that of bulk silver - is enough for these applications, but we are still trying to improve it. If we can get to 30% of bulk silver, we can move up to high-end applications, such as OLED lighting and solar cells.'
As well as providing independent validation of NeoDec's ink, the Holst Centre agreement means that other companies developing printed and organic electronic devices could adopt the ink, via their own work with the R&D facility.
'This agreement is an open innovation concept, which means that other companies have access to these technologies to do fast and cost-effective production.
'Companies like [OLED lighting developer] Philips are big partners in the Holst Centre for instance.'
Documents and links
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About +Plastic Electronics magazine
Your source of the latest news on the business and market strategies for organic and printable electronics, is available for just £95 for a complete volume
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NeoDec
The company, a spin-out from the Eindhoven University of Technology, is producing conductive ink for printed electronics
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Holst Centre
The open innovation R&D centre is supported by IMEC and TNO
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PolyIC creates smart tickets and cards
Printed electronics company PolyIC is planning the commercialisation of intelligent electronic tickets, card games and product packaging within the next three years
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The future role of printing in plastic electronics
Dr Sean Smyth, a leading consultant for the digital and analogue printing industry, examines opportunities and challenges for printing electronics
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Forecasts of Disruptive Technologies in Consumer Packaging to 2019
Pira International report identifying the top 25 disruptive technologies likely to have the greatest impact on consumer packaging over the next 10 years
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