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Latest research findings

Check here for news on my research findings as they emerge. If you'd like to comment on anything on this page, please do get in touch by emailing info@printedelectronics.net.

 

Plastic Electronics: Putting the UK at the forefront of a technological revolution

Click here to see my report on opportunities presented by plastic electronics.

 

Plastic Electronics in the UK

An analysis of the UK’s competence in Printed and Plastic Electronics was completed at the end of June 2008.  For more information and to download the Competence Matrix, click here.

 

Plastic Electronics in Germany

An analysis of the Germany’s competence in Printed and Plastic Electronics was completed at the end of October 2008.  For more information and to download the Competence Matrix, click here.

 

Plastic Electronics: Comparing the UK with Germany

Drawing on two analyses of Plastic Electronics activity in the UK and German, I have undertaken a comparison of the two countries with Cathy J Curling. We examine routes to market being pursued in the two countries, materials and technology deployed, applications, the extent of component manufacture and supply, and business models and financing.

In considering routes to market, for example, we note that entities in the UK are more active in early value chain activities such as Materials and Inks, and less active in the later stages of Process scale-up/Prototype design, as shown here:

To see our analysis of differences between the two countries, please click here. This link takes you to a copy of a brochure that was circulated by the UK Displays and Lighting Knowledge Transfer Network at the Printed Electronics Europe conference in Dresden in April 2009.

Our conclusions are:

• German innovations in Plastic Electronics (PE) will reach market more quickly through initial lower functionality markets, but UK innovations have greater potential to generate longer-term novel technologies and higher-end applications, especially through SME/start-up companies
• UK approaches fit with business models that are common in UK: Core competence in high-resolution, thin layers, novel materials and inks combined with licensing model to package up business offering based on early stage IP
• UK players need to de-risk the technology sell within IP licensing/royalty deals by demonstrating early prototype/proof of product functionality; as time progresses and more rival technologies become available, less value will be captured by UK players who hold core IP not already licensed
• There is a risk that Innovative Developers of PE in the UK (especially universities) will not be able to fully develop the process and device know-how necessary to support and add value to their IP where they pursue licensing models

You can find our more about the data we used to reach these conclusions by clicking on the full document here.