Nanotech innovator raises £225k to develop LEDs for interactive marketing materials
Oxfordshire nanotechnology start-up, Polymertronics, has secured £225,000 of investment - combining £150,000 from a business angel and £75,000 from a prestigious research and development grant. The company, founded in 2006, is developing a new nanotechnology that will allow digital inkjet printing and instant curing of flexible electronic components, and owns a British patent application for the technology.
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One application is embedded organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and touch sensitive interactive panels that can be used to enhance poster advertising campaigns. This unique technology is patent pending protected and will enable the production of advertising posters containing ‘pre-printed’ light displays, with zero lead time for production.
Polymertronics products combine existing technologies in an innovative and commercially profitable way. It is already possible to create organic (meaning carbon-based) semiconductors for electronic components that are small enough to be successfully transferred onto base media using standard commercial printing facilities. Polymertronics combines this existing technology with the latest ultra-violet (UV) curing techniques, to cure and fix the electronics onto media that can include vinyl, plastics, glass and metal. Any shape of OLEDs can then be printed using flatbed or roll-to-roll printer platforms and powered by a low voltage battery source.
Polymertronics’ products are designed to be bolted onto existing printing infrastructure, making them both accessible and affordable.
Stephen Clemmet, Founder & Managing Director of Polymertronics, said: “Polymertronics’ products add a new dimension to the advertising industry. We can offer unparalleled interactivity and marketing opportunities that can be changed and reworked as quickly as printing technology allows – something that simply hasn’t been possible before now.
“Given that there are more than 10,000 commercial printers worldwide, which produce over 780 million square metres of advertising posters using the UV curing process every year, there is a huge potential market where our products can easily be retro-fitted and used.”
Polymertronics is at the proof of principle stage, with the new investment allowing the company to develop semiconductor components in collaboration with the University of Reading. Already protected by patent pending, two further patent applications are expected during this year: worldwide patent pending for the current patent pending, plus one further British patent application.
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