Batteries

A new printed battery that can be produced cost-effectively on a large scale could soon power small integrated displays on electronic bank cards.

There are huge opportunities for companies providing inorganic chemicals to printed and potentially printed electronics. Here, Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx, summarises some of the findings from the new IDTechEx report "Inorganic and Composite Printed Electronics 2009-2019."

Some of the new electric cars generate at least some of their electric power from solar cells on the vehicle - In future, they may generate electricity in part from shock absorbers, transparent solar cells over windows and thermoelectrically from the engine and exhaust in hybrid.

Over 100 industry executives have already confirmed their participation for Thin Film Today's forthcoming Thin Film Solar Summit Europe, scheduled to take place in Berlin next month.

UPM Raflatac and Blue Spark Technologies partner to drive new battery assisted passive RFID research and product development

Nanotecture has developed microbatteries and supercapacitors aimed at markets such as boosting the flash in mobile phone cameras to take pictures farther away, audio buffering in mobile phones etc for higher quality sound and powered smart cards.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers have created a kind of beltway that allows for the rapid transit of electrical energy through a well-known battery material, an advance that could usher in smaller, lighter batteries for cell phones and other devices that could recharge in seconds rather than hours.

The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems (Chemnitz, Germany) demonstrated their innovative printed battery in Tokyo last month.

Next-generation, ultra-thin rechargeable batteries for micro devices such as smart cards, portable sensors and RFID tags could be used in energy harvesting applications suggest IDTechEx.

A Swedish research centre has been established for intelligent pharmaceutical packaging, smart foods packaging, hospital logistics and patient care.

Is a problem looming in the electronics industry due to some estimates that the demand for lithium will increase three to seven times by 2012?

Laminar batteries are usually having success only where the need for thinness and flexibility is extreme. IDTechEx interview companies at Printed Electronics World USA to find out more.

Vibration energy harvesting is receiving a considerable amount of interest as a means for powering wireless sensor nodes. It is the simple notion that mechanical vibration can be transformed into useful electrical power.

Researchers have developed a new type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded.

How Printed Electronics is changing consumer goods and services - highlights from the forthcoming Printed Electronics USA event

IDTechEx finalises its report on the Intellipak conference held on 5 November in Sweden

prelonic build first display - battery modules: fully printed, on one substrate and low-cost. Focused to mass production processes these prototypes will be the base of the starting business in 2009.

IDTechEx report on the Intellipak conference held in Sweden on 5 November that was mainly in Swedish and partly in English with just over 40 attending and excellent content.

Energy harvesting, otherwise known as energy scavenging is needed to boost and eventually replace the batteries in printed and other low cost and miniature electronics, particularly in order to extend their life in use.

IDTechEx's technology analyst Dr Harry Zervos attended GRAPH EXPO 2008 and reports on the innovative technologies that could benefit from the merging of electronics and printing.

IDTechEx has just issued a report on the hot topic of Wireless Sensor Networks WSN, also known as Ubiquitous Sensor Networks USN. The report is called Wireless Sensor Networks.

Cymbet Corporation has developed a breakthrough in battery technology with the introduction of the EnerChip™ CC CBC3112 and CBC3150 thin-film batteries with integrated battery management.

The new IDTechEx masterclass, called "Creating new products with printed electronics," will explore the needs by industry sector and appraise the technologies and timelines.

Two British design firms PDD and Goose Design have teamed up to develop a stylish cycling jacket aimed at the fashion conscious cyclist that can be seen in the dark using electroluminescent and photovoltaic technology.

MIT engineers in the USA have been working on pioneering research to develop tiny microbatteries about half the size of a human cell, built with viruses.

New Blue Spark UT Series (ultra-thin) paves the way for innovative RFID card and label solutions; Blue Spark HD Series (high-drain) provides a power boost to handle drug delivery patches and novelty greeting cards.

Thin Battery Technologies, the leading supplier of thin, flexible printed battery solutions, announced that the company's new name will be Blue Spark Technologies

TEKES The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, on 27 June granted Enfucell a 1,5 million euros loan for development of the SoftBattery™ technology.

Printed electronics today is mainly a matter of inorganic rather than organic chemistry and the next ten years are unlikely to see the inorganic part drop below 50% of the high value materials required.

Investment proceeds will be focused to strengthen Enfucell's active participation and presence in expanding European, American and Chinese markets.

Lithium ion batteries have a relatively short lifespan and in extreme circumstances can catch fire or even explode.

Nanosilver is so tiny it can go right to the surface of an organism and essentially shoot ions into the organism, says a research scientist.

Taking medication wrongly is a huge problem, resulting in more than 150,000 people dying unnecessarily in both North America and in Europe every year.

Solicore has developed a unique Polymer Matrix Electrolyte (PME) which allows batteries to be ultra-thin, very flexible, environmentally friendly and extremely safe.

A stretchable, flexible self-cleaning device that can be used as a mobile phone or keyboard that harvests solar energy and senses the environment by using nanotechnology was launched this week.

Printed batteries and printed displays will be the first products of prelonic technologies OG, a new High-Tech company recently founded in Linz, Austria.

With Juha, Enfucell gains strong international business and technology know-how necessary to become a global firm, says Enfucell Chairman Dr. Jussi Suomela.

Healthcare information systems in use today were mainly designed to manage acute illness, such as infections and injury, making them ill-equipped to cope with the growing requirement for pervasive monitoring of long-term conditions.

IDTechEx look at aspects relevant to printed electronics from the Active RFID and Real Time Locating Systems RTLS conference.

Printed electronics still use conventional sources of power but this may change in the future with the newly developed printable batteries printed onto a surface with

On 20 November, the Printed Electronics Arena had a one day meeting in Norrkoping Science Park Sweden

Printed photovoltaics and batteries have reached a technological tipping point. With demand for power skyrocketing, IDTechEx find that the market for thin film photovoltaics beyond silicon will reach $1 billion in 2012 and $6 billion in 2014. Here Raghu Das, CEO, summarizes some of the findings of the new IDTechEx study - Printed and Thin film Photovoltaics and Batteries.

Transistors are the engine of the new electronics just as the silicon chip is the engine of the traditional electronics.

Products like the flexible transistor will account for 10 percent of the information technology (IT) device market within the next 10 years say researchers at KIST.

A new energy storage device that is only slightly bigger than the size of a postage stamp has been developed by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Gentag, Inc. and The CORE Institute® in the USA have announced a joint collaborative effort to develop and market RFID diagnostic Skin Patches for Medical Applications in Orthopedics.