Imagine if your devices could be bended, rolled, or even folded. Enter flexible electronics: the future of electronic devices. Divided into two product segments, the global flexible electronics market comprises of flexible displays and printed or flexible batteries. This technology involves the mounting of electronic circuits on flexible plastic substrates like transparent conductive polyester film and polyimide.
Not only have flexible electronics emerged as an innovative design tool, they are also highly cost-effective. This explains why the market will continue to experience impressive growth over the next few years. In 2015, the global flexible electronics market was valued at $1.55 billion, and, according to analysts at Technavio, will grow at a whopping CAGR of around 67% by 2020.
Key vendors in the global flexible electronics market
Samsung Display
Headquartered in South Korea, Samsung Display is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Known for its LCD and OLED technologies, the company is involved in manufacturing and marketing display solutions that feature small to ultra-large panel sizes. The company’s product portfolio includes smart/mobile phone, mobile device, automotive, tablet, PC, note PC, monitor, TV, and PID.
LG Display
The world’s largest LCD panel makers, LG Display is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels, OLEDs, and flexible displays. Established in 1995, the company operates nine fabrication facilities and six back-end assembly facilities in China, Korea and Poland. Other products offered by the company include TVs, monitors, notebooks, cell phones, and tablets.
E Ink Holdings
Founded in 1992, E Ink Holdings is an e-paper display company that offers electronic paper displays and TFT LCD displays. A subsidiary of the YFY Group, a private paper manufacturing company in Taiwan, the company has three subsidiaries and eight branch offices in the US, China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Its electronics paper display segment, offers Carta (Monochrome Active Matrix), Spectra (Color Active Matrix), Triton (Color Active Matrix), Pearl (Monochrome Active Matrix), Aurora (Active Matrix ESL), Mobius (Flexible Active Matrix), and Surf (Segmented Solutions).
Blue Spark Technologies
Founded in 2003, Blue Spark Technologies is the leading producer of solutions for thin film batteries. The company developed its first thin film batteries by acquiring intellectual property (IP) from Eveready Battery Company, now known as Energizer Holdings. Its printed, carbon-zinc batteries are “powering innovation” for OEMs, product design engineers and system integrators in industry applications ranging from food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, healthcare and medical diagnostics, to smart cards, radio frequency (RF)-based sensors and RFID tags, interactive packaging, merchandising displays, consumer products and novelty items.
Exciting read: The Top 10 Vendors in the Interactive Flat Panel Display Market
Enfucell
Headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, Enfucell provides printed batteries called Soft Batteries for RFID tags, micro sensors, cosmetic patches, and functional packaging. Founded in 2002, the company has recently partnered with Xymox Technologies, known for its printed electronics manufacturing for battery-assisted devices. Xymox represents Enfucell SoftBattery in North America.
AU Optronics
Based in Taiwan, AU Optronics produces and sells TFT LCDs and other flat panel displays. Formed by the merger of Acer Display Technology, Inc. and Unipac Optoelectronics Corporation, the company is a global leader in thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD). Apart from display products, AU Optronics also manufactures solar products.
Cymbet
Established in 2000, Cymbet is the leader in solid-state energy storage solutions for microelectronic systems. It is the first company to market eco-friendly biocompatible rechargeable solid state batteries that provide electronic systems designers with new embedded power capabilities. Also the first to introduce bio-compatible batteries for medical implants, Cymbet offers battery integration in a real-time clock and has partnered with portable power manufacturers to market its products.
Imprint Energy
Established in 2010, Imprint Energy manufactures zinc rechargeable batteries. Its exclusive high conductivity polymer electrolyte technology enables scalable print-based manufacturing of energy dense and ultra-thin batteries based on non-Lithium earth-abundant materials. The company is working towards improving portable power by offering the performance of lithium-based batteries at significantly lower costs and by removing form factor limitations and safety concerns.
BrightVolt
BrightVolt, Inc. is a major provider of printed batteries for smart cards, partnering with many smart card manufacturers globally. The company is expanding to RFID tags and medical devices. It has also moved to digital printing process with which it is able to manufacture large volumes of printed batteries and provide customized battery solutions to customers.
Planar Energy Devices
Planar Energy Devices was established in 2007 as a spin-off of the ‘National Renewable Energy Laboratory’, and is a part of the vanguard of the green technology revolution. By acquiring and consolidating proven key technologies and assembling a world class multidisciplinary team, the company has what it needs to systematically address the challenges of energy storage and usher in a new era of solid state energy storage.
View the 2016-2020 Global Flexible Electronics Market Report
