LOPEC, the leading trade fair for flexible, organic and printed electronics, is once again taking place in Munich (February 25-27). The mixture of trade exhibition, congress and innovation platform attracted almost 2,400 visitors last year.
In 2025, the trade fair is once again aimed at companies, experts and scientists from the industry and aims to support them by sharing experience and knowledge. PLUS has already accompanied the trade fair in previous years and has registered a cautious but continuous growth of the event - as well as interest in printed electronics technologies.
In 2024, LOPEC made the clever move of integrating the trade fair and conference more closely by allowing additional exhibitors to set up their 'tents' in the ICM congress center. The organizers are not resting on their laurels in 2025 either: Armin Wittmann, Exhibition Director of LOPEC at Messe München, told PLUS more about the new congress concept, which is being tried out this time: The congress will be supplemented by compact user sessions - one on February 26 on the topic of Smart Living and another on February 27 on the topic of Mobility. For the first time, half-day tickets for both sessions can be purchased for €350.
Overall, LOPEC will focus on the following areas:
- Mobility & Automotive: the concepts of printed electronics in the mobility sector have often been presented at past LOPEC trade fairs - but now finished products such as OLED headlights and touch surfaces are entering series production.
- Consumer electronics: The consumer sector is probably where most users encounter printed and flexible electronics, including e-readers and foldable smartphone displays.
- Healthcare: Medical applications are experiencing an upswing - wearables, smart textiles and smart patches for the medical sector are on the rise.
- Printing and packaging: Electronics for the packaging sector offer unbeatable advantages thanks to their sustainability, often pollutant-free use and low-cost production.
Smart Buildings: OPV (organic photovoltaic) modules and elegant sensor technology for energy management enrich existing smart home concepts and promise ever more sophisticated possibilities.
Medtech wearables with printed electronics are on the rise
LOPEC presents innovations in printed electronics (Image: Messe München GmbProf.Dr. Luigi Occhipinti, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), explained the enormous potential of intelligent printed electronics in an interview with Messe München in January 2025. His vision includes wearables with multimodal sensor technology, energy-efficient AI, neuromorphic data processing and sustainable energy generation and storage. Combining these technologies in printed, flexible and textile-based wearable intelligent systems could improve effective clinical interventions and nursing assistance in the medical field. This includes e-textiles, for example, in which functional materials are integrated into flexible, stretchable garments. "Such skin-compatible wearable electronics adapt seamlessly to the human body to meet current health needs or enable other applications in everyday life," emphasized Prof. Dr. Occhipinti. Energy can be obtained from the immediate environment or through the human body. He will explain such concepts in more detail in his presentation 'AI-Driven Wearable Tech and Neuromorphic Sensors: Advancing Sustainable Smart Edge Devices'.
22 projects in the OE-A Competition
Once again, the OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association) will be spotlighting innovations in printed, organic and flexible electronics in the 'OE-A Competition' at LOPEC. 22 projects from international companies, research institutes and universities will present their ideas to a jury of international experts. They will evaluate the submissions in three categories:
- Prototypes & New Products
- Freestyle Demonstrator
- Publicly Funded Project Demonstrator
In a press release dated January 21, 2025, the OE-A pointed out three highlights among the projects submitted:
- The organic, compostable fuel cell from BeFC, France, which uses enzymes to convert sugar molecules such as glucose and oxygen into electricity, inspired by nature. The combination of paper-based batteries with printed circuit boards could enable sustainable energy use and green electronics in the IoT and healthcare sectors.
- Printed hybrid electronics from the company collaboration TracXon (Netherlands) and Lohmann (Germany) for large-scale lighting and signage for events such as concerts, exhibitions, etc. - with a fully additive manufacturing process that also enables robust, flexible and foldable connections.
- To the smart hydrogen from Arkema Piezotech, France, whose sensors detect mechanical shocks and check the integrity of the tank with just a few cables.
