Printable electronics centre sees £20m boost

The Printable Electronics Technology Centre (Petec) near Durham, UK, is to get £20 million to expand its facility and services. The centre, at NETPark in Sedgfield, will receive £12 million from the UK Government’s Advanced Manufacturing strategy, and £8 million from the Regional Development Agency – One North East.
The funding will add new equipment for prototyping applications in:
* printable photovoltaics
* ultra-efficient lighting
* printable flexible displays
* new intelligent packaging

The new investment will also result in:
* 500m2 of new hi-tech equipment space for large-area application and production of pilot product manufacturing
* The development of new applications and knowledge which will attract new companies to the UK
* New private sector investment into novel lighting and solar energy harvesting applications
* Key technology applications in wide-area displays, photovoltaic generation, novel lighting and smart packaging by stimulating collaborations with new companies and linking with academia
* The development of a regional and UK-wide display, lighting and photovoltaic supply chain
* The work on Photovoltaic Cells and energy-efficient Organic Solid State lighting is also further investment in the North East’s new low-carbon industries, following announcements this month in projects covering wave power, biofuels, electric vehicles and industrial biotechnology
In the next four years it is estimated that this investment will stimulate the creation of up to 250 jobs in the North East and up to 1,500 jobs nationally.

"One North East has been investing in PETEC for some time now, having identified printable electronics as one of the emerging industries that can drive the region’s economy forward," said Alan Welby, Director of Strategy at One North East. "The groundbreaking research and development work that has been taking place in Sedgefield is fast approaching a stage where it can become an area of major industrial growth and job creation for North East England."