At Lopec 2023 (February 28 to March 2 in Munich), the OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association) presented the 9th edition of its roadmap for flexible and printed electronics. With its latest roadmap, the international working group within the VDMA provides an outlook on the future of the industry and the trends in the most important markets.
According to Stan Farnsworth, OE-A Chairman and Chief Marketing Officer of PulseForge (USA), a lot has happened since the last edition of the roadmap and printed, flexible and hybrid electronics have found their way into a large number of products and markets.
The white paper 'OE-A Roadmap for Flexible, Organic and Printed Electronics' provides an insight into the increasing market maturity. More than 100 OE-A experts have contributed detailed short and long-term forecasts for their sales markets in addition to the latest developments. The most important customer markets include the automotive industry, consumer electronics, healthcare, packaging, building technology and the Internet of Things (IoT).
In the automotive sector, the technology is used for rear lights, among other things. OLEDs have now also reached vehicle interiors as three-dimensional displays and lighting concepts. The same applies to sensors with touch surfaces. In consumer electronics, printed electronics are becoming increasingly important as an interface. Smartphones with foldable displays are becoming increasingly popular. In the healthcare sector, intelligent patches for monitoring vital functions such as heartbeat and breathing are becoming increasingly important. Smart labels in logistics monitor the temperature and vibrations of sensitive goods. RFID and NFC labels as well as smart tags that contain GPS are used in the IoT growth driver. Systems with organic and large-scale printed photovoltaics are used on roofs and façades.
The results of the semi-annual OE-A business climate survey for 2023 confirm expectations of further growth in the industry. This year, OE-A member companies are expecting sales growth of 18% in applications for flexible and printed electronics. The outlook for 2024 assumes a similar increase of 19%. This is less optimistic than in fall 2022 (+24%), reflecting negative effects such as disruptions in long-established global supply chains. More than 73% of OE-A members expect further disruptions and price increases as a result of higher energy costs, inflation effects and difficulties in procuring components. However, the period until 'back-to-normal' business is expected to be relatively short. Half of the OE-A members surveyed (57%) expect a recovery within the next twelve months. Rising demand from customers, especially in the US and Europe, also gives cause for confidence compared to October 2022.
