Advanced Materials

Agfa has long been involved in printed electronics. The main interest has been around PEDOT:PSS (brand name: Orgacon) but recently they have launched a new conductive ink based on nanosilver. Agfa will continue to actively support PEDOT but has now bet on two horses in the printed electronics race. This profile is focused on Agfa's work on silver nanoparticle inks. Here, Agfa can bring scale to a business landscape otherwise largely dominated by small players.

IDTechEx recently attended a Printed Electronics conference in Germany. IDTechEx analysts attended talks from a wide variety of companies. Here we include very brief highlights/summaries of the important points.

Consider three supercapacitor riddles as we reveal how the supercapacitor industry is in good health in 2014 with added potential. What takes a lot of space and no space? What has a rival that is a partner? What do fuel cells need next?

Graphene - the world's thinnest material isolated at The University of Manchester - could make batteries light, durable and suitable for high capacity energy storage from renewable generation.

OCSiAl has unveiled a breakthrough technology for the production of single wall carbon nanotubes ('SWCNTs'), which enables large scale, commercial productionof SWCNT for the first time.

CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES SA is a high-tech French SME focused on mechatronics covering piezo and electromagnetic sensors and actuators, as well as a host of other technologies such as magnetoresistive, magnetorestrictive, etc. CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES was bought by ACTIVE STRUCTURE FINANCE in Jan 2012. CEDRAT is customer oriented and not a product focused company

Intrinsiq Materials now provide a range of laser sintering systems and modules to suit a wide range of customer requirements and applications.

New research by IDTechEx in the report Graphene Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2014-2024 External Link shows that graphene markets will grow from around $20 million in 2014 to more than $390 million in 2024, at the material level.

Early stage companies continue to be formed across the world to commercialise graphene technology and governments commit large sums to R&D on graphene and other 2D materials. Companies are still searching for the killer application and the commercialisation strategies are still mostly one of substitution.

Developer, designer and manufacturer of actuators based on printed electroactive polymers (EAPs).

IDTechEx recently visited Japan for the FineTech expo in Tokyo. This article summarises the latest findings and updates from Japanese companies in the field of printed electronics. Here, IDTechEx will discuss trends in metal mesh, in-mould, barriers and OLED materials and production.

The profile summarizes the activity of materials' supply company, Arevo Labs. This company supplies high performance thermoplastic filaments to the 3D printing market.

Sinautec is a Chinese company developing electric buses. Interestingly they have developed a bus technology that uses only supercapacitors as energy storage device. This is possible only because they charge quickly the SC at each bus stop. This principle is known as opportunity charging which has been adopted by ABB as well in their TOSA charging system in Geneva.

Combined efforts by Eastman Kodak Company and Xymox Technologies, Inc. have yielded a new highly conductive film product - KODAK HCF-385 Film - for use in projected capacitive touch sensors found in home appliances, tooling and machine equipment, product packaging, signage, automotive displays and other interactive electronic devices.

Sonoplot manufactures Microplotter systems for research and prototyping. The dispensing mechanism used within the Microplotter systems is significantly different from inkjet technology. Rather than eject droplets over a distance to a surface, a Microplotter acts like a pen plotter, directly dispensing droplets or true continuous features. Microplotters are capable of printing a wide variety of materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and living cells.

Quantum Materials Corp is using two proprietary disruptive technologies (1) a novel QD synthesis method licensed from Rice University, and (2) industrial scale production of QD using advanced flow chemistry microreactor technology to produce tetrapod quantum dots. QMC's strategy is to use its strengths in quantum dot synthesis and mass production, along with quantum dot printing abilities in creating new product paradigms in industrial and commercial applications.

Samsung Electronics announced a breakthrough synthesis method to speed the commercialization of graphene, a unique material ideally suited for electronic devices.

Linear Technology Corporation (Linear) designs, manufactures and markets a broad line of standard high performance analog integrated circuits. Linear has been involved in the energy harvesting sector for almost five years now. Linear provides low power and highly efficient circuit solutions for energy harvesting devices.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is an agency of the Government of Canada, reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Industry. It was established in 1916. The Printable Electronics program, a $40-million NRC investment over five years, will develop applications in smart labels, smart drug packaging, anti-counterfeiting, and NFC.

Canatu has developed a unique, bendable transparent conductive film optimised specifically for wearable, electronic touch screen devices and next generation foldable smart phones and tablets.