In recent years, Canada has built up a vibrant ecosystem for the field of printed electronics (PE), from research and advanced materials development to micro-electronics and packaging and other end uses.
 
The ability to bring all of these components together in order to develop a commercial market is the next step. To accomplish this, the Canadian Printable Electronics Industry Association (CPEIA) was launched late last month during Printed Electronics USA 2014.
 
“There has been a lot of activity in Canada that is printed electronics related,” said Peter Kallai, CPEIA’s executive director, adding that the CPEIA complements the National Research Council Canada (NRC), which has developed a successful R&D program in the PE field.
 
The NRC’s PE Consortium has 14 industry partners, and Kallai noted that nearly 50 Canadian companies already have a business interest in PE. The CPEIA’s stated mandate is to bring together Canadian and international players in industry, academia and government to build a strong domestic PE sector.
 
Kallai added that any individual or organization with a vested interest in Canada’s PE sector can join the CPEIA, including end users, startups and SMEs, universities and government research labs, systems integrators and OEMs, and venture capitalists and angel groups. Membership is open to Canadian and international organizations.
 
NRC’s Printable Electronics (PE) flagship program coordinated efforts to bring Canada’s leading PE industry members to Printed Electronics USA 2014, setting up a Team Canada pavilion featuring NRC, CPEIA, Xerox Research Centre of Canada, ICI – Printability and Graphic Communications Institute, GGI International, 1-Material, CSA Group, OM Signal, NanoIntegris and Raymor Industries. There was also a live wearables demonstration with hockey uniforms in the pavilion.
 
“We have a whole lot of things going on,” Kallai said. “We want to nurture the ecosystem from technology development through to the end user.”
 
Kallai noted that the Canadian printed electronics industry is particularly strong on the packaging side, with Jones Packaging and Canadian Bank Note prominent companies in the field. The materials industry is also advanced, with NanoIntegris and Xerox Research doing ground-breaking work in printed electronics.
 
As an example, Boisbriand, Quebec-based Raymor Industries, the parent company of NanoIntegris, received the prestigious Technical Development Materials Award at Printed Electronics USA 2014. Raymor was honored for its work to create carbon nanotube-based commercial products through its NanoIntegris and Nanotech divisions. The materials were co-developed by the NRC.
 
“Raymor is just one example of the kind of innovative foundational research and commercial development underway in Canada for the global PE industry,” said Kallai.
 
“This is a win for our team as well as our partners and customers who have helped us to develop world-class products that put Canada on the PE map,” said Jacques Mallette, CEO of Raymor Industries.
 
Kallai sees the role of the CPEIA as being a bridge between each of the PE disciplines and he end user.
 
“It’s time for Canada to step up and stake its claim in this exciting emerging market. We have to bring all of the parts of the ecosystem together,” Kallai concluded. “We can be the connector between the end user and the technology, and build the verticals.”