Sep 10 2007
Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power PlasticR, a material that converts light to energy, and Toppan Forms Co., Ltd., a world leader in printing businesses, printable electronics and digital information technologies, today announced they have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies for consumer and electronic applications. Under the agreement, the mutual goal is to bring Konarka'a organic photovoltaic material, Power PlasticR, to market.
"Konarka's Power Plastic is flexible, thin, printable and low in cost, providing our organization with promising new business opportunities as we strive to become an integrated information management service company,"
commented Masanori Akiyama, president and CEO of Toppan Forms. "With the full-fledged advent of the ubiquitous society under way, we need an ever-present power technology that can be integrated with pervasive networked devices for information collection and distribution. We are delighted to collaborate with Konarka, the world leader in OPV technologies, to accelerate the commercialization of this transformational power technology to the market place."
Organic photovoltaic material is a thin layer of polymeric materials, sandwiched between two printed electrodes. It can be manufactured by traditional printing processes and generates electricity upon exposure to light. OPV makes it possible for devices, systems and structures to have their own low-cost embedded sources of renewable power. By combining energy generation and power consumption within the same device, system or structure, Konarka's Power PlasticR enables manufacturers to create truly wireless applications.
"The partnership with Toppan Forms represents a key milestone for the commercialization of Power Plastic," commented Rick Hess, president and CEO of Konarka. "This relationship enables each company to focus its expertise and resources on key product development processes, continuing our go-to-market strategy of partnering with leading global companies for a variety of applications."