Will enable thin, flexible strips of light where no power source is available
TEL AVIV, Israel & NISKAYUNA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Power Paper, an Infinity Group portfolio company, and GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced today that the companies have signed an agreement to jointly develop self-powered OLED lighting devices. Using low-cost, high volume manufacturing processes, these devices could be deployed in a wide variety of environments from military ships to night-time jogging vests. The collaboration is supported by an Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD Foundation) program.
GE is globally recognized as a pioneer in the electric lighting industry and continues to lead the way in bringing new, innovative lighting technologies to market. Power Paper develops and licenses micro-power clean technology based on an innovative paper-thin, flexible, safe, environment-friendly, printable battery.
John Ouseph, GE Commercial & Industrial Business Programs Manager at GE said, “Our goal is to design lighting products that are less intrusive, have greater flexibility and can be easily installed or modified based on changes in the application. We will build a product that costs less, consumes less energy with improved reliability and resists vibration and shock. Mobile, remote-powered light strips are a natural extension of GE’s lighting portfolio, and Power Paper is uniquely positioned to supply thin film, flexible batteries for this application.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the collaboration will combine Power Paper’s novel thin film batteries and GE’s industry leading Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. The goal of the GE-Power Paper- BIRD project is to develop a first generation of self-powered OLED lighting products and identify next generation technologies with enhanced capabilities. The length of the program is 12 months. The general illumination market is estimated at $2.5 billion.
“It is a fabulous opportunity to work with GE and the BIRD Foundation and we are enthusiastic about the project at hand,” said Mr. Zvika Nitzan, chief technology officer of Power Paper. “It is important to note that Power Paper batteries do not contain caustic chemicals, and cannot overheat, explode, or cause burns or electrical shock. They are non-toxic and non-flammable and can therefore be freely shipped, stored, and disposed of after use. The batteries contain no heavy metals such as mercury, lead or cadmium, commonly found in conventional batteries, making them suitable for disposable applications. Power Paper design and printing processes allows the ability to control shape and size of the battery according to the device needs. The bottom line: our batteries help to prevent accidents, reduce shipping costs and enable our partners to create differentiated products.”
The potential applications for lighting devices that are thin, flexible, lightweight and mobile are virtually unlimited. When the lights go out from a power outage, imagine strips of light that illuminate hallways and emergency pathways and even light a whole room in a house. Another example: military and camping enthusiasts could stick strips of OLED lighting inside their tents without the need for bulky and noisy generators.
About Power Paper
Founded in 1997, Power Paper Ltd. creates and licenses printable micro-electronic clean technology and patches. Power Paper’s batteries provide a fully printable, integrable and disposable power source with the longest shelf life of any printable batteries on the market. The batteries also deliver a superior electrical performance due to their overall structure and efficient active inks. In addition, Power Paper printable batteries are comparatively less expensive. All materials used in the cells are classified by the U.S. Federal government as non-hazardous waste, disposable after use in normal municipal waste facilities, making the cells an ideal solution particularly in environments containing food and beverages. Power Paper is the 2009 recipient of the commercialization award of the annual IDTechEx Printed Electronics Europe. The company is a member of the School, Home and Office Products Association (SHOPA). PowerPaper’s collaborations include: General Electric, Antonio Puig, Body Estetic S.L., Estee Lauder, Germain de Capuccini, H2O Plus, Parfumerie Douglas Gmbh and University Medical. Investors are led by Infinity Group, and include Apax Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners and Bank of America Capital Partners. For more information, please visit www.powerpaper.com. Press contact: Marjie Hadad, marjie@netvision.net.il or +972-54-536-5220.
About GE Global Research
GE Global Research is one of the world's most diversified industrial research labs, providing innovative technology for all of GE's businesses. Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100 years, developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as medical imaging, energy generation technology, jet engines and lighting. GE Global Research is headquartered in Niskayuna, New York and has facilities in Bangalore, India, Shanghai, China and Munich, Germany. Visit GE Global Research at www.ge.com/research.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.
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