Inks are an essential element in printed electronics (PE). They provide the conductivity needed to power PE systems, whether it is for solar, displays, smart cards or other applications. There has been much work done in improving the performance of conductive inks, which is leading to further opportunities for PE.

It is noteworthy that in the past month, two leading conductive ink manufacturers, Innovalight and Plextronics, have received a major influx of capital from major corporations. In the case of Innovalight, a silicon ink manufacturer located in Sunnyvale, CA, the company was acquired by DuPont on July 25, 2011. Plextronics, meanwhile, received a $15 million influx of capital from Solvay on July 26, 2011.

DuPont’s acquisition of Innovalight makes a lot of sense. DuPont has become a major power in the photovoltaic (PV)market, achieving more than $1 billion in sales in 2010, and looks to double that figure by 2014.

Innovalight’s silicon inks are used to increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells, and the company has achieved numerous milestones. In April 201, the company announced that it reached 19 percent conversion efficiency with silicon ink processed solar cells, which was certified by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany. In May 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invested $3.4 million in Innovalight to accelerate the development and production of silicon ink material and processes for high efficiency solar cells at its operations in Silicon Valley.

DuPont has strong expertise in material sciences in the PV field, having major positions in backsheet films, encapsulants and metallization pastes. Adding Innovalight’s silicon ink and process technology can lead to future gains. Meanwhile, DuPont’s extensive manufacturing abilities and international global position will bring these products to market much more quickly.

As for Plextronics, Solvay has had a long-standing relationship with the company, and is Plextronics’ largest minority shareholder. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Plextronics has been making gains in the fields of organic photovoltaics (OPV) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays and lighting. The additional funding will go toward technology development and delivery of its innovative products to a growing base of global customers.

In particular, Solvay and Plextronics officials pointed to the OLED display market as being of particular interest.

Léopold Demiddeleer, head of future businesses and corporate platforms, a section of Solvay’s newly created Innovation Center, said, “The adoption of OLED technology, for example, is a visible sign that organic and printed electronics are on the verge of becoming a major market for advanced materials. Plextronics is our partner of choice to succeed in this high growth area, and we continue to work closely on developing joint business opportunities.”

“The advancement of our OLED technology is of particular importance as we work to meet projected customer demands for OLED flat panel display technology and OLED lighting applications,” Andy Hannah, president and CEO of Plextronics, noted.

As has been the case with other major international corporations such as 3M, BASF, Total and Bayer MaterialScience that have made significant investments recently in PE, DuPont and Solvay are huge companies. DuPont’s 2010 sales were $31.5 billion, while Solvay had approximately $10 billion in sales in 2010. When companies such as DuPont and Solvay are actively investing in conductive ink technologies, it is a clear sign that interest in PE continues to grow.