The use of printed electronics (PE) appears to be growing, with new projects moving from the lab to early stages of production. All of this is generating increasing interest among consumer products companies and designers in the possible uses of this technology.

With that in mind, Printed Electronics Europe 2011 and Photovoltaics Europe 2011, organized by IDTechEx, leading industry analysts, will be held April 5-6, 2011 at the Dusseldorf Congress Center in Dusseldorf, Germany. There will also be masterclasses held April 4 and April 7.

PE Europe 2011 and PV Europe 2011 will focus on the commercialization of the technology, as well as new developments at companies, research centers and universities.

For example, the opening session on April 5 will feature keynote talks by IDTechEx, Mars Nederland bv, Nokia Research Centre, the U.S. Army, Metro Stores, Bayer MaterialScience AG, MIT, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and Printechnologics. Later talks will include leading innovators such as T-Ink, Thin Film Electronics and E Ink, to name but a few.

There will also be a new End-User Printed Electronics Forum, dedicated to companies that have an interest in understanding how printed electronics can be used in their businesses. Speakers will feature many case studies of printed electronics in action – what was done, costs and benefits to the company. In addition, the session will feature a panel of end-users who will answer questions regarding their needs or experiences with the technology.

“We try to have a commercial focus,” said Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx. “For example, we have keynote talks by Mars Nederland, the Metro Group, who are the EU’s largest retailer, Nokia, the U.S. Army and more. Also, for the first time, we are having an end user panel, featuring Nokia, Mars and a textile company.”

Mr. Das said that the ability to show attendees actual working PE samples is key to helping them understand what PE can do for their companies. For example, the University of South Africa will be printing samples of its silicon-based thermistors for all attendees, and there will be displays of printed electronics systems for attendees to view at the show’s Demonstration Street.

“We want to have as many existing products as we can so people can see them working,” Mr. Das said. “There will be a bag full of giveaways for visitors. We want to hear what end users are looking for from printed electronics.”

Mr. Das also discussed some new technologies of note, which will be showcased during talks, while other opportunities are reaching fruition.

“Paper electronics is an interesting new session for us, whether it is using paper as a substrate for batteries or even as part of the component itself,” Mr. Das said. “Textiles are becoming an exciting new opportunity, such as stretchable electronics and fabric-based electronics for sports clothing to vehicle fabrics. OLED lighting is experiencing strong interest, with many new players joining the supply chain over the last 12 months. LG Chemical is working on lighting. Meanwhile, the mighty $130 billion Samsung Electronics is installing printing equipment to produce its OLED displays.”

PE Europe 2010 and PE USA 2010 had very strong growth in terms of attendance, with PE USA 2010 exceeding 1,000 attendees. There are more than 70 confirmed exhibitors in place, and many more will be listed shortly. Mr. Das said that PE Europe 2011 is showing the same growth, which correlates to greater interest in the technology from a wider range of end-use verticals.

“So far, the sign-ups are excellent,” Mr. Das said. “They are tracking what we had in Santa Clara last year, and are well ahead of what we had in Europe last year.

“We believe this shows the increasing level of interest in printed electronics,” Mr. Das added. “We are certainly seeing increasingly more new people coming to our shows, and asking how they can participate in this market, whether they are interested in electronics, printing or adding value to their products such as packaging.”

After the keynote talks, the conference will break into three concurrent sessions during the afternoon of April 5. Track 1 will discuss Interactive Printed Media (presentations by T-Ink Inc., JCDecaux and Blue Spark Technologies) and New Product Development & Integration (Soligie).

Track 2 will cover Textiles & Wearable Electronics (PLATINGTECH/Future-Shape GmbH, TITV – Textilforschungsinstitut Thüringen, Interactive Wear and Peratech Ltd.) and Explosive Markets for Bi-Stable Displays (E Ink, Polymer Vision and Kent Displays).

Track 3 covers photovoltaics, with sessions on Products with Integrated Printed Photovoltaics (Total, Konarka Austria, Riso National Laboratory and G24 Innovations); Performance Gain with Vacuum Processing (Heliatek GmbH) and Reaching High Volume AND High Yields (CSIRO Australia and TU Ilmenau).

Day 2 Presentations

The conference breaks into four concurrent tracks on April 6. Track 1 includes presentations on Paper Electronics: The Latest Work on the Cheapest Substrate (De La Rue Group/Acreo AB, Stora Enso Packaging Boards, Uni of Lisbon Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia and the Institute for Print & Media Technology); Printed Silicon and Metal Oxides Outperform (Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Applied Materials GmbH & Co KG and University of Cambridge); and High Density Printed Memory: Commercial Progress (Thin Film Electronics).

After lunch, talks focus on Large Area Printed Thermistors, Strain Gauges and Photo Detectors Coming to Market, with speakers from University of Cape Town, Fraunhofer IFAM, ISORG and NanoTecCenter Weiz on hand to offer their insights.

Track 2 covers a wide assortment of fields, beginning with Radios, RFID, Displays and Other Products Printed Roll-to-Roll
(Georg-Simon-Ohm-University of Applied Sciences, Sunchon National University, VTT and Konkuk University (Dept. of Mech. & Aero Engineering). This will be followed by Gravure Printed Devices (Daetwyler R&D Corp. and Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM)), and Smashing the Limits of High Speed Inspection (In-Core Systemes and Bosch Rexroth).

After lunch, Track 2 returns with Progress with OLED Displays and Lighting (Panasonic Electric Works Co. Ltd., Universal Display Corporation, Plextronics and Holst Centre).

Track 3 returns with its focus on PV systems, with topics ranging from Inorganic Printed Photovoltaics Outperforms – New Formulations (IDTechEx, Q-mo solar AG, Trident Industrial Inkjet and Lang Consulting Engineering); The Race for the Best Barrier Technology (Tera-Barrier Films Pte. Ltd. and Fraunhofer IVV) and New Sealants and Adhesives for Longer Life Devices (DELO and Henkel).

After lunch, Track 3 will cover Breakthroughs with OPV Materials and Design (Imperial College London and Organic Materials Innovation Centre) and Printed, Rechargeable, Stretchable Batteries (VTT Finland).

Track 4 covers a wide range of topics, including The Inevitable Shift To Copper Inks (Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd., Intrinsiq Materials Ltd. and Novacentrix); Possibilities for Carbon Nanotubes (Canatu Oy); Manufacturing (Optomec, PixDro b.v. and Unigraphica AG); and ITO Replacement (Heraeus Clevios GmbH).

After lunch, the Track 4 talks will include UV Curing and Beyond (Henkel and Integration Technology Ltd.) and Novel Flexible and Printed Products (CETEMMSA and Flexible Electronics Concepts).

The conference will close with the four tracks merging again to hear three talks, covering Interactivity with Touch and Haptics (isiQiri interface technologies GmbH), The Printed Electronics EcoSystem (Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)) and Printed Electronics Applied to Vehicles (IDTechEx).

For more information on Printed Electronics Europe 2011 and Photovoltaics Europe 2011, please check out the web at www.IDTechEx.com/peEurope, or email event director Chris Clare at [email protected].