North East England

North East England is a major centre for the emerging global printable electronics industry, putting its wealth of expertise to use in developing and commercialising products that significantly reduce energy consumption for this growing market.

Printable Electronics is a key growth area for the North East economy and a growing number of companies, including spin-outs from university research departments, are now driving international markets.

The area is home to CPI's Printable Electronics Centre PETEC, the UK’s only printable electronics technology centre, which is a division of the Centre for Process Industries (CPI).

"North East England is already establishing itself as a key location for the development and commercialisation of printable electronics companies."

The technology has been taken up by companies such as Thorn Lighting, which has a large plant at Spennymoor in Durham. The company is working on a project to produce ultra-thin plastic sheets that can emit light of sunlight intensity and will use a fraction of the energy of a conventional light bulb.

DuPont Teijin Films and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) have collaborated in a project at Wilton Central to manufacture new polymers for use in printed circuits.

Other firms taking advantage of the expertise and support offered by CPI's Printable Electronics Technology Centre PETEC include PolyPhotonix, based at NETPark, which is developing printable lighting technologies for the automotive and architectural markets.

Durham University also plays a significant role and is recognised as one of the UK’s most important academic centres for printable electronics.