Finance for Printed Electronics is Not Drying Up

Although it is tempting to conclude that the financial meltdown is going to destroy, or at least put on the back burner many exciting companies in this field, things are not so simple. Solvay, having only taken an interest in printed electronics in recent years, is continuing to put significant money into new businesses and research in the field, the latest being a three year programme to develop organic printed transistors at the center for Photonics and Electronics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The focus is high speed printing at low temperature. Pelikon, the company successfully making and selling printed AC electroluminescent displays has just been bought for $10.7 million by the quoted Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLEX). That is not a distress level price.