Nanomaterials have the potential to create new materials and devices for diverse applications, including medicine, electronics and energy production. Nanotechnology is already being used to improve paper and board, inks and pigments. Market watch uses information from Pira market reports to illuminate the biggest markets for nanotechnology-based printed electronics, and forecast growth areas.
| Mitsubishi Chemical's scale-up of OLED lighting manufacture, and LG's plans to work with ex-Kodak employees at TechnoCorp Energy suggest that OLED lighting is becoming the focus of Asia's electronics manufacturers. UK-based projects are pushing the development of building-integrated photovoltaics, as Dyesol, Corus Colors, Polysolar and Pilkington Glass prepare business offerings for the construction market. Apple's iPad is making e-reader companies like Bookeen, Polymer Vision and Plastic Logic change their market approach - though the iPad is by no means an e-reader killer. And paper could be the substrate of choice for printed electronic power devices. R&D at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology aims to prove cheap production of paper-based photovoltaics. | +Plastic Electronics reports from Smart Fabrics 2010 in Miami, Florida. The April event included presentations on best practice for getting smart textile products to market, and discussions on how to attract interest and partnership from commercial brands. Presentations came from the likes of Textronics, Ardica Technologies and Angel Chang. Organic Photovoltaics 2010 in Philadelphia highlighted the ways in which developers can exploit the unique characteristics of organic solar cells to find commercial applications. Presentations also revealed the major obstacles to practical use of organic cells, and proposed technical solutions, with talks from Navigant Consulting and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
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