Member Article

New tech centre brings more innovation

Building work at the state of the art Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC) in County Durham has been completed, with the aim of establishing the North East as a global leader in innovation for the plastic electronics industry.

PETEC is based at NETPark in Sedgefield, and spans 3,000 square metres, providing high-tech cleanrooms, laboratory space, offices and seminar rooms, which are set to house an impressive range of equipment and highly skilled industry experts.

The centre is designed to be a platform for both start-ups and larger manufacturing companies to get prototype and pilot-scale production up and running.

Customers of the centre will be able to test design concepts and novel materials for a variety of next-generation products, processes, and services for use in a wide range of markets. Potential innovative products to be developed at the centre include real-time newspapers, smart packaging, flexible printed lighting and point-of-care medical diagnostic products.

Tom Taylor, project director for PETEC, said: “The printed electronics industry has the potential to revolutionise consumer electronics and will impact on a host of other technologies. PETEC will offer experience, knowledge, and appropriate infrastructure to support customers in an emerging global market. Building and running facilities such as these, are notoriously expensive, a draw back that often alienates companies from developing new technologies. The centre provides a crucial and affordable service for small to medium enterprises, de-risking new development.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .