Printed, organic and flexible electronics forecasts and opportunities

In the report IDTechEx appraises each enabling technology component by virtue of its market need - not technology push.

The big picture
The report specifically addresses the big picture - including OLED displays and lighting, to thin film photovoltaics to flexible sensors and much more. Importantly, it includes not only electronics which are printed, organic and/or flexible now, but it also covers those that will be. Realistic timescales, case studies, existing products and the emergence of new products are given, as are impediments and opportunities for the years to come.

Over 3,000 organisations are pursuing printed, organic, flexible electronics, including printing, electronics, materials and packaging companies. While some of these technologies are in use now - indeed there are three sectors which have created billion dollar markets - others are commercially embryonic.

The benefits of these new electronics are numerous - ranging from lower cost, improved performance, flexibility, transparency, reliability, better environmental credentials and much more. Many of the applications will be newly created, and where existing electronic and electrical products are impacted, the extent will be varied.

This widely referenced IDTechEx report brings it all together, with particular focus on applications and quantative assessment of opportunities.

IDTechEx find that the total market for printed, flexible and organic electronics will grow from $29.28bn in 2017 to $73.43bn in 2027. The majority of that is OLEDs (organic but not printed) and conductive ink used for a wide range of applications.

On the other hand, stretchable electronics, logic and memory, thin film sensors are much smaller segments but with huge growth potential as they emerge from R&D.

The following components are assessed, and for each one ten year forecasts are given, along with companies and their activities, case studies, impediments to commercialisation and timescales:

• Logic and memory
• OLED displays
• OLED lighting
• Electrophoretic and other bistable displays
• Electrochromic displays
• Electroluminescent displays
• Other displays
• Thin film batteries
• Photovoltaics
• Sensors
• Conductors
• Other

If you are looking to understand the big picture, the opportunity, the problems you can address, or how you can start to use these technologies and the implications involved, this report is a useful.

Researched by multilingual IDTechEx consultants based in four countries and three continents, this report builds on ten years of knowledge of the industry.