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The news media are full of the details of the global financial meltdown. Is this affecting finance for the small companies and start-ups involved in printed and potentially printed electronics and electrics? We think not.
Every year, companies leave the oversupplied OLED value chain. Rob Haslett, CEO of Patterning Technologies, the ink jet specialist in the UK, tells us that the company has folded because an £850,000 investment has fallen through. We therefore approached Dr Alison Voice of Leeds Lithium Power which has a laminar battery produced reel-to-reel and has spent down a first round of finance. This product is based on an appealing lithium gel process involving a polyvinylidene film as a binder; excellent batteries are produced experimentally with the potential to rival the laminar lithium batteries of such famous, well funded start-ups as Infinite Power Solutions, Solicore and the recently created Planar Devices Inc. Such batteries are needed for miniature energy harvesting, backup power supplies, Active RFID and many other applications. Cymbet and Planar recently announced versions with the control electronics integral in the battery.
Dr Alison Voice and her colleague Professor Ian Ward have prepared the following response for Printed Electronics World:
"The Polymer Gel Electrolytes Group, housed within the Polymer IRC at Leeds University, is no longer trading as Leeds Lithium Power after the completion of the recent Venture Capital funding. However they currently have a number of active collaborations with industry, making batteries and smart cards, and are advancing the scientific understanding of the processes that underpin the technology through academic research. The work is currently funded by the University directly, but the group is seeking further funding and collaboration."
This follows on the heels of funding problems at Thin Film Electronics in Sweden; the company printing non-volatile memory so urgently needed for the printed electronics of the future. Its process involves an elegant, simple capacitor-like structure containing a layer of organic ferroelectric, with giant Solvay signed up as a partner to further improve the formulation. Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") announced on 5 December 2008 that "discussions with a potential industrial shareholding partner had been put on hold due to the situation in the world's financial markets. Consequently the board of Thinfilm has considered various alternative routes forward towards the commercialisation of the company's technology. As a result of the current financial market combined with the company's cash resources, Thinfilm needs to adjust its operation to ensure timely completion of certain critical tasks related to industrialisation and the establishment of channels to the market. The board of directors has decided to initiate cost savings in Linköping, Sweden. A core team will be retained. The savings are expected to take effect by the end of the first quarter of 2009."
Every year, companies leave the oversupplied OLED value chain. Rob Haslett, CEO of Patterning Technologies, the ink jet specialist in the UK, tells us that the company has folded because an £850,000 investment has fallen through. We therefore approached Dr Alison Voice of Leeds Lithium Power which has a laminar battery produced reel-to-reel and has spent down a first round of finance. This product is based on an appealing lithium gel process involving a polyvinylidene film as a binder; excellent batteries are produced experimentally with the potential to rival the laminar lithium batteries of such famous, well funded start-ups as Infinite Power Solutions, Solicore and the recently created Planar Devices Inc. Such batteries are needed for miniature energy harvesting, backup power supplies, Active RFID and many other applications. Cymbet and Planar recently announced versions with the control electronics integral in the battery.
Dr Alison Voice and her colleague Professor Ian Ward have prepared the following response for Printed Electronics World:
"The Polymer Gel Electrolytes Group, housed within the Polymer IRC at Leeds University, is no longer trading as Leeds Lithium Power after the completion of the recent Venture Capital funding. However they currently have a number of active collaborations with industry, making batteries and smart cards, and are advancing the scientific understanding of the processes that underpin the technology through academic research. The work is currently funded by the University directly, but the group is seeking further funding and collaboration."
This follows on the heels of funding problems at Thin Film Electronics in Sweden; the company printing non-volatile memory so urgently needed for the printed electronics of the future. Its process involves an elegant, simple capacitor-like structure containing a layer of organic ferroelectric, with giant Solvay signed up as a partner to further improve the formulation. Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") announced on 5 December 2008 that "discussions with a potential industrial shareholding partner had been put on hold due to the situation in the world's financial markets. Consequently the board of Thinfilm has considered various alternative routes forward towards the commercialisation of the company's technology. As a result of the current financial market combined with the company's cash resources, Thinfilm needs to adjust its operation to ensure timely completion of certain critical tasks related to industrialisation and the establishment of channels to the market. The board of directors has decided to initiate cost savings in Linköping, Sweden. A core team will be retained. The savings are expected to take effect by the end of the first quarter of 2009."
Companies Mentioned:
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