The Light Bright Future of Plextronics

Andy Hannah holds up prototypes of the world’s first solar cell print technology.

In one hand, there’s a glass panel covered with a thin film that absorbs the rays of the sun and generates electricity to produce an image. In the other, an Esquire magazine with its words mysteriously lit up on the cover.

Welcome to the future of information technology brought to you by Plextronics, a Carnegie Mellon spinout that has been diligently working for six years to perfect a light-bright, polymer-based ink for flexible displays, plastic solar cells and RFID tags.

The beauty of the ink--a thick, rich Cabernet--is just a kilogram is capable of making millions of devices that will change the way we light our world, explains Hannah, president.

Imagine a thin layer of organic film, one thousandth the thickness of a human hair, that you can tote around on a mat containing all the materials you may read in a day--business reports, the daily news, a good book.

The concept is similar to a KindleReader, the handheld tool that gives you access to online digital content, except that it uses solar cells to power it with clean, green energy.

“It’s the Ipod for information,” says Hannah proudly, a whole new paradigm for communication and information.

But first things first.

Before a company can consider the cool products that will roll out with the semi-conductive, light-up inks, Plextronics must first show the world how to make a solar cell, one of the basic building blocks of the printed electronics industry.

Taking a bold step, Plextronics unveiled its own $6 million manufacturing center this week, an operation called the D-Line. Located in a building adjacent to company headquarters at the University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center (U-PARC), the facility is a scaled-down version of what a large-scale manufacturing facility will look like, with a state-of-the-art clean room bathed in yellow light to prevent ultra violet rays from damaging the sensitive ink.

“Creating this line is a novel approach for an early stage company, a way to remain the world leader in this industry,” says Hannah. “Now we not only own the inks, but the method of scaling up manufacturing and building up the intellectual property around the product.”

The D-Line brings the company one step closer to commercialization, which could happen as early as next year. Plextronics envisions supporting 15 billion printed electronic devices by 2015, a billion-dollar market that is expected to exceed $300 billion within 20 years.

“This is the best selling tool that we could have invested in,” says Glenn Thompson, COO CEO, who was so inspired by the technology that he came out of retirement to join the Plextronics team. “It’s what is going to drive us to the next level.”

With lights that power themselves, the applications are endless. Solar cells could potentially provide lighting to half a million people in India who don't have electricity, Thompson says.

The Plextronics team continues to grow. Currently 66 employees work at the 27,000 square foot research center and three more will be hired in the next two months.

Of the total, 33 were drawn to Plextronics from outside our region, some of the brightest researchers in the country. The company has received $41 million in venture capital to date, supported by overseas and regional investors including Applied Ventures, Birchmere Ventures, Firelake Capital Management and Innovation Works.

“This company is a real tribute to our region,” Thompson says. “It’s mind blowing when you think about it.”

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Image of Andy Hannah with prototypes, Deb Smit.  Top image copyright Brian Cohen.
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