Strategic Elements to scale Energy Ink technology

Printable electronics developer Strategic Elements is embarking on a project to scale up the size of the printed devices it can produce that generate electricity from moisture in the air.

The company has shown it can generate electricity from a technology based on a transparent ink that can be printed onto surfaces such as plastic, glass and silicon.

Electricity is generated through water molecules in the air being absorbed into a layer of nano-engineered ink, with ions separating and migrating into high and low concentration, creating an electrical current flow.

Now the company plans a project to utilise automated printed electronics machinery in commercial facilities to produce A4 sized sheets of cells which could be stacked vertically to enhance energy output.

A team from Strategic Elements, Stealth Technologies and the University of New South Wales has evaluated and selected printing methods combining commercial deposition machinery and screen printing for trial.

Strategic Elements subsidiary Australian Advanced Materials has scaled up the Energy Ink technology from small cells to ‘sheet’ size.

This required a new ink formulation and larger production volumes, increased cell size and a transition to commercial suppliers for circuitry, ink and materials.

Strategic Elements managing director Charles Murphy said: “As the Energy Ink is a pioneering technology, much work was required to design the cell to sheet programme and prepare modified ink and materials for trial in automated machinery.

“The next phase could revolutionise our ability to generate energy from moisture and enable us to attract global collaborators.”

The company said the development of Energy Ink was still at an early stage and has significant hurdles to achieve technical feasibility.

“These advancements will be leveraged to attract global collaborators to tackle further unaddressed hurdles such as duration, shelf life, corrosion and transitioning from prototypes to a more extensive, integrated system.”

Further reading:
Printed battery power output rises says Strategic Elements

Picture: Strategic Elements