IDTechEx, a company providing research and business intelligence in the field of printed electronics and energy, published a report that provides forecast about Printed and Flexible Electronics in Automotive Applications for the next en years. According to the study, the market is expected to grow to over $5.5 billion dollars in the next decade, spearheaded by the projected growth of in mold electronics and OLED technologies.
BASMATI project focusing on the entire value chain of flexible printed electronics, will strongly benefit from this market opportunity. It makes the results of the projects extremely attractive for the industrial partners as there is a real market demand. The project develops a pilot line for the ink formulations ensuring large volume fabrication of new products with improved properties for printing application.
The two main technologies that will experience an important growth are OLED and in mold electronics (IME). OLED has become the premium display technology for many consumer products and the industry is now moving from glass substrates to plastic substrates following the trend towards flexible displays to be put into cars. IME are used in the formation of car overhead consoles. It is a multi-step process that utilizes establishes manufacturing techniques and existing tools. Graphical and functional inks are screen printed, subsequently thermoformed to the desired shape, and finally molded in the final step.