The next big thing…E-packaging

A revolution in the consumer goods sector is expected as scientists perfect alternatives to conventional silicon-based electronics.

According to Susann Reuter, director at analyst firm IDTechEx, such technologies still face technical hurdles but carry huge potential. Printing circuits on flexible materials, for instance, could reduce the cost of electronics suitable for use in packaging by 99 per cent. That could make commonplace such innovations as talking pizza boxes, logos that wink at you and medicine bottles that prompt you to take your daily pill.

‘It is a big opportunity, but there is a lot of work still to do,’ says Reuter. ‘For example, some of the materials used [in printed electronics] are quite sensitive to humidity and oxygen and will degrade within hours in some cases. You can glass for protection, but then you lose some of the benefits like flexibility.’

Nevertheless, she adds that universities and companies across the world are already devoting significant resources to solving these problems. ‘Silicon Valley is not just about silicon anymore – there are very interesting start-up companies working in these new areas,’ says Reuter, adding that there is particular interest in developing photovoltaic cells without silicon, which would be cheap enough to dispose of or recycle with normal household rubbish.

Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, reckons that technical obstacles will be overcome and the next few years will see remarkable breakthroughs in this field, such as invisible electronics, stretchable electronics and even edible electronics (with potential applications in healthcare).

‘Most packaging is remarkably nostalgic of a bygone age,’ says Harrop. ‘Mankind got to the moon 40 years ago but we cannot see how much is left in an aerosol can. Yet it only takes one brand to modernise and others must come running.’