News Article

A state-of-the-art printable electronics facility in County Durham has been given a welcome surge in currency thanks to a major EU investment to help small technology businesses exploit new market opportunities.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) has secured an additional £2m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 to install advanced, hi-tech equipment in a newly opened cleanroom at the Printable Electronic Technology Centre (PETEC) at NETPark.

The PETEC Large Area Coating Equipment (LACE) project is enhancing the region’s growing technology capabilities, enabling development and prototyping for plastic electronic applications in printable photovoltaics (PPV) and solid state lighting (SSL).  It will create 40 new jobs, assist 20 specialist businesses, and provide university training courses in PPV and SSL techniques.

The European funding sourced through One North East doubles the investment made by the government’s Technology Strategy Board to develop the facility last year.

Its technology brings innovative functions for electronic systems such as flexible computer displays used for electronic newspapers, mobile communications devices, televisions, sensors, and smart cards.  These manufacturing processes typically require much lower levels of capital investment than current electronics technology, enabling small, customised devices with high design content.

“PETEC LACE is enabling SMEs to take the next step forward in the development of new flexible printed circuit applications which will only be viable with this new technology,” explained PETEC director Tom Taylor.  “We are talking about leading edge high tech products like wearable display devices, portable storage media and design-intensive, low-energy lighting applications.

“Our established PETEC business development team is engaging the SME community and other technology partners to develop opportunities using these new capabilities and generally raise awareness of their high value in product development for lighting and photovoltaics.”

The PETEC building at NETPark has been established on an open access basis to take research ideas through to developmental prototypes, allowing small companies and spin-outs to test ideas before the investment intensive manufacturing stage.

“Printable electronics as a group of technologies is predicted to be a $30bn industry by 2015,” added One North East Chief Executive Alan Clarke.  “While most electronics manufacturing is currently monopolised by Asia, fundamental technology advances in printable electronics in our region are enabling smaller-scale and quicker specialist prototyping and manufacturing.

“The UK is at the forefront of this industry as much of the technology and early leading companies have originated here.  The project will boost the role of PETEC and CPI in NETPark, an identified innovation connector in the ERDF 2007-13 Operational Programme.”

With a close working relationship with the UK Displays & Lighting knowledge transfer network, regional universities, NEPIC and the Advanced Coating Facility at Wilton, CPI aims to develop the project to create a printable electronics, lighting and photovoltaic users supply chain with these networks.

For further information about the PETEC LACE project, call 01740 625 700.

The ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-13 managed by One North East is bringing over £250m into North East England.  Its emphasis on enterprise and business support is encouraging small businesses to develop, grow and innovate.

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Media contact: Tom Willcox
European secretariat, One North East
0191 229 6805