Necomada

DESCRIPTION

The project targeted the incorporation of advanced functional materials to deliver customized conductive inks and flexible adhesives compatible with high volume manufacturing platforms. Specifically the development of these enabling materials would support high speed roll to roll integration of hybrid and large area electronics to address internet of things opportunities

The consortium integrated materials development with end application requirements in terms of technical performance (thermal/electrical conductivity, processing conditions, materials integrity and adhesion) and unit cost of production to facilitate market adoption. The project utilized and built on existing CPI pilot facilities (R2R print line) to demonstrate technology integration, manufacturability and produce components for end user evaluation to enable the direct comparison of production techniques.

The project delivered a supply chain to support future commercialisation: incorporating materials suppliers of inks and adhesives, supporting RTO in Formulation and nano-particle production, established high fidelity print equipment manufacturers, electronic device manufacturers, established pilot line facilities and potential end users from the apparel, packaging and healthcare sector – relating to the Internet of Things.

The basis of this ambitious project was to address the material challenges inherent in the manufacture of RFID cards (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC tags (Near Field Communication) at low cost. With this objective in mind, the partners worked in the four areas that encompass the value chain of these products: nanomaterial, adhesive, printing technique, electronic component and final product.

NANOGAP's work within the project focused on the first stage of the project chain: development of nanomaterials at low cost/price, carrying out the development of silver nanomaterials (both nanoparticles and nanofibers) with high conductivity and sintering performance, optimized for both the formulation of inks and adhesives as well as for subsequent printing processes. All developments were carried out taking into account the cost of production, a critical point in the project.

Overall, NANOGAP completed the development of new products and intensive work was done to reduce the production cost, in addition to completing and optimizing the post-processing stages.

Funding info

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 720897

Consortium members

• Centre for Process Innovation Limited, United Kingdom.
• Henkel Electronic Materials (Belgium) NV, Belgium.
• PRAGMATIC PRINTING LIMITED, United Kingdom.
• TEKNOLOGISK INSTITUT, Denmark.
• ContiTech Elastomer-Beschichtungen GmbH, Germany.
• NANOGAP SUB-NM-POWDER SA, Spain.
• THOMAS SWAN & CO LIMITED, United Kingdom.
• BSH ELECTRODOMESTICOS ESPANA SA, Spain.
• HENKEL KGaA, Germany - Crown Packagin UK PLC, United Kingdom.
• FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V., Germany.
• TYOETERVEYSLAITOS, FinlandNXP SEMICONDUCTORS BELGIUM NV, Belgium.