Memorandum 122
Submission from the Technology Strategy
Board
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The Technology Strategy Board welcomes
the case study into Plastic Electronics Engineering by the Innovation,
Universities and Skills Committee. This emerging technology offers
a great prospect for the UK to exploit the critical Intellectual
Property and knowledge that it possesses to generate wealth in
the global market.
2. In recognition of this, Plastic Electronics
has been identified by the Technology Strategy Board as an important
part of one of five technology pillars in the draft Electronics,
Photonics and Electrical Systems Strategy. The Technology Strategy
Board will consider seriously further investment to exploit the
UK's lead in plastic and organic electronics to develop a sustainable
base for wealth creation.
3. To date, Technology Strategy Board Collaborative
Research & Development competitions worth £48 million
including Plastic Electronics in the technology scope have been
conducted. The total value of Plastic Electronics projects that
are running is over £52 million, representing over £25
million committed investment by the Technology Strategy Board
at least matched by funding provided by business. The Plastic
Electronic Technology Centre (PETeC), which opens in Summer 2008,
benefits from a further £2.06 million investment by the Technology
Strategy Board, in addition to the funding from One North East.
4. The Technology Strategy Board financially
supports the UK Displays and Lighting Knowledge Transfer Network,
which is an active champion for the field. Previous networking
support of the Plastic Electronics sector has been through the
Flexynet Link Programme, which later grew and evolved into the
UK Displays and Lighting Knowledge Transfer Network.
THE TECHNOLOGY
STRATEGY BOARD
5. The Technology Strategy Board was established
in July 2007 as an Executive non-Departmental Public Body sponsored
by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Our
vision is for a world in which the UK is a global leader in innovation
and a magnet for innovative businesses, who can apply technology
rapidly, sustainably and effectively to create wealth and enhance
quality of life. We will promote and invest in technology-enabled
innovation:
- For the benefit of business,
- To increase sustainable economic growth,
- To improve quality of life.
6. We will invest with partners including
Regional Development Agencies, Devolved Administartions and Research
Councils in new ideas, build networks, promote knowledge exchange
and provide leadership. With a wide remit covering the whole of
the UK economy, the Technology Strategy Board will have to make
choices as to where we invest. We will do so using the following
criteria:
- Does the UK have the capacity and capability
to develop and exploit the technology or innovation?
- What is the size of the global market opportunity?
- Is the idea ready? Potential for impact
and timescale.
- Is there a clear Technology Strategy Board
role?
7. We will evaluate our investments to inform
future decisions. We will consider further investment in the exploitation
and commercialisation of Plastic Electronics against these criteria.
INTRODUCTION
8. Plastic Electronics is an emerging field
that has the potential to disrupt the world of electronic circuits
and flat panel displays. It has been identified by the Technology
Strategy Board as an important part of one of five technology
pillars in the draft Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems
Strategy.
9. The ability to utilise flexible substrates
instead of the traditional rigid glass structures or silicon in
certain applications, will lead to a paradigm shift in product
and end-use capability as well as manufacturing processes with
roll-to-roll processing, now a real possibility. The development
of Organic Semiconducting Materials is also recognised by the
Technology Strategy Board as a significant enabler. Although several
UK companies are leading the way to exploit this field there is
still work required to fulfil the potential.
10. The basic manufacturing technology,
both for the use of organic semiconductors and for the creation
of electronics on flexible substrates, is printing. The UK publishing
industry is particularly well established, so there is considerable
capacity and skills base to draw upon. The development of functional
inks carrying organic semiconductor materials, metals and barrier
materials has been driven in large part from the UK academic base,
and their integration into the manufacturing process is now well
underway.
CURRENT AND
FUTURE ROLES
OF ENGINEERS
IN THE
FIELD OF
PLASTIC ELECTRONICS
11. This need for continued technical development
is recognised by the Technology Strategy Board and is why further
support and investment is being seriously considered. Additional
technical challenges relate to the compatibility between materials
(including wet shelf life), device geometry, processing-especially
the manufacturing proposition, which could well be roll-to-roll
as described above, and general issues of developing manufacturing
capability.
12. Some of these challenges require genuine
scientific advances in the laboratory but all of them require
an investment of engineering effort. A joined up approach is required
from electronic engineering and materials engineering through
to manufacturing and process engineering, recognising that some
of the solutions will originate from academia. It is the integration
of solutions from these disciplines which will lead to systems
and products which can then service the global market.
13. It should be recognised that a valid
commercial proposition also exists for the individual material,
component or production technology suppliers that can provide
solutions to address these challenges and win in the global market.
14. If appropriate advances can be made
to make printed electronics a commercial reality, this will also
open up the field to a new skill base in the printing community
who would not normally associate themselves with electronics.
This means that it is not only traditional skill sets that are
required but the innovative application of skills from other fields
as well. This prospect is particularly exciting, because of this
cross-cutting applicability.
POTENTIAL FOR
PLASTIC ELECTRONICS
IN THE
UK/GLOBAL ECONOMY
15. The worldwide market for organic and
printed electronics is estimated to rise from $1.18 billion in
2007 to over $48 billion by 2017[3],
and technology analysts speculate that these new markets could
be valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars within 20 years.
One substantial opportunity is in the flat panel display component
market, for which a UK capability study has been conducted in
the past[4].
Recent data show the market exceeded $94 billion in 2006 and will
grow to nearly $200 billion in the next ten years[5].
Currently this is based on silicon deposited on glass, but plastic
substrates and organic semiconductors aim to penetrate or displace
parts of this. For example, the e-paper market is predicted to
reach $2 billion by 2012 and then double again in the subsequent
two years[6].
16. It should also be recognised that the
first applications of Plastic Electronics will not necessarily
be the high end display market, even though some Far East companies
have recently launched or announced thin displays based on Organic
Light Emitting Diodes (OLED). In fact the first market opportunities
could well come from those requiring short lifetime such as advertising
displays or cheap giveaways from fast food outlets or garages
etc. This is one of the reasons why Plastic Electronics is full
of opportunities and the UK needs to identify and exploit these
emerging markets, in parallel with the further development of
the wider industry and technology for traditional applications.
17. In a field that is often referred to
as Organic PV (PhotoVoltaic), Plastic Electronics also offers
the possibility of cheap, flexible solar cells and a market of
$2.3billion is predicted to emerge for thin film and organic semiconductors
as they penetrate portable applications and low cost installations
in the built environment[7].
Similar rapid market penetration is predicted for plastic RFID
tags and other cheap disposable electronics, whilst the use of
organic electronics in lighting applications leads to an emerging
market for OLEDs that has been forecast to exceed $400 million
by 2010, with strong continuing growth to over $6 billion in 2015[8],
[9].
18. The uptake of these Plastic Electronics
devices in the market promises a wealth of new application possibilities,
providing a platform for software and service innovations, improving
operating efficiency in retail and logistics, and penetrating
into sectors as diverse as transport, publishing, medical devices
and domestic and consumer electronics.
HOW UNIVERSITIES,
INDUSTRY, VENTURE
CAPITAL AND
GOVERNMENT ARE
INVOLVED IN
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
UK PLASTIC ELECTRONICS
SECTOR
19. To date, Technology Strategy Board Collaborative
Research & Development competitions worth £48 million
including Plastic Electronics in the technology scope have been
conducted[10].
The total value of Plastic Electronics projects that are running
is over £52 million, representing over £25 million committed
investment by the Technology Strategy Board at least matched by
business.
20. The opening of the Plastic Electronic
Technology Centre (PETeC) in Sedgefield, in the summer of 2008
will provide an open access facility to allow new companies to
enter into this exciting new field and create working prototypes,
which is why a £2.06 million capital investment in this centre
was made by the Technology Strategy Board, supplementing infrastructure
investment support from One North East. This centre will provide
a focal point for developing manufacturing processes leading to
commercialisation of the technology, and for building a skills
base in the North East and nationwide to support it.
21. The Technology Strategy Board has also
invested in networks to nurture and grow the field of Plastic
Electronics; the UK Displays and Lighting Knowledge Transfer Network
grew out of the Link Programme called Flexynet. UK Displays and
Lighting are champions for Plastic Electronics in the UK, and
provide a forum within which this community can meet and cross-fertilise
ideas, to encourage innovation in the field. As well as providing
knowledge transfer opportunities for the UK community, they also
work with UK Trade and Investment as ambassadors for the UK capability
to overseas companies and organisations, to provide new export
or inward investment opportunities.
WHETHER THE
UK ENGINEERING AND
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
ARE SET
UP TO
HANDLE GROWTH
IN THIS
AREA OR
OTHER AREAS
LIKE IT
22. There are also over 30 companies with
benchmarked world-class R&D in Plastic Electronics, these
range from home grown companies to multi-national players. UK
organisations hold much of the knowledge and critical IP, along
with leading positions in developing and marketing early products.
23. The UK also has an exceptionally strong
academic base, with several 5-star university departments, such
as the Cambridge Engineering (Centre for Advanced Photonics &
Electronics) and Cavendish Laboratories, and Imperial College
and Southampton having world class activities. EPSRC has taken
a lead in supporting university research in this area, with several
large grants to develop the UK capability.
24. Support and investment is required to
help the growth in this area. However this is not just a case
of providing money to the sector. In fact some of the bigger questions
relate to how it is possible to extract wealth from the public
and private investment. This might be through a new manufacturing
proposition, or technology licensing or the supply of the constituent
materials, components or processing equipment. Further work with
the community and key stakeholders is required to explore these
ideas and identify the UK route to wealth creation from Plastic
Electronics technology.
25. This is where the Technology Strategy
Board will work with the emerging Plastic Electronics industry
and other stakeholders such as the Research Councils (eg EPSRC)
and Regional Development Agencies (eg One North East), to make
sure that all of the support is joined up. If new sectors are
to embrace the opportunity that Plastic Electronics offers an
appropriate out-reach programme needs to be conducted to educate
the existing sector. Knowledge transfer is of utmost importance.
It is also important that the correct technology barriers are
addressed for the good of the wider community, and also that the
manufacturing proposition for the sector is identified and exploited
to ensure that the investment today, provides great payback in
the future.
SUMMARY
26. The Technology Strategy Board welcomes
the case study into Plastic Electronics Engineering by the Innovation,
Universities and Skills Committee. The emerging industry offers
a great prospect to for the UK to exploit the critical Intellectual
Property and knowledge that it possesses to generate wealth in
the global market. The Technology Strategy Board is seriously
considering further investment to exploit the UK's lead in plastic
and organic electronics to develop a sustainable base for wealth
creation.
March 2008
3 IDTechEx, Organic and Printed Electronics Forecasts,
players and Opportunities 2007-2027. Back
4
Flat Panel Displays in the UK-a guide to UK capability. Logystyx
Ltd for DTI. Aug 05. Back
5
OIDA Global Market Optoelectronics Industry Market Report and
Forecast. October 2007. Back
6
www.optics.org reporting
on "E-Paper Markets: An Eight-Year Market And Technology
Forecast" which is available from NanoMarkets. Back
7
Thin Film and Organic PV: New Applications for Solar Energy. NanoMarkets
2006. Back
8
OIDA Global Market Optoelectronics Industry Market Report and
Forecast. October 2007. Back
9
Nanomarkets. Back
10
The following competitions have been run by the Technology Strategy
Board and by the Department of Trade and Industry before that:
£4 million, April 2004, Displays; £8 million, Nov 2004,
Optoelectronics and Organic Electronics; £14 million, Apr
2006, Organic Electronics, Displays & Solid-State Lighting;
£7 million, Nov 2006, Plastic Electronics and Displays; £5
million, Apr 2007, Plastic Electronics; £10 million, Nov
2007, Advanced Lighting, Lasers & Displays. Back
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