Dubbed POETICS, the project could help lower production costs and drive industrial growth within the printed electronics industry.
Smart labels by London-based SME Reelables attach to objects like a sticker and can be tracked with a phone app.
In order to enable the smart labels to be mass-produced at an ultra-low cost, an inexpensive battery to power the smart labels needed to be developed.
In collaboration with Reelables, CPI led a 12-month feasibility study with £100,500 of funding from Innovate UK to develop a low-cost battery that would be formed onto each smart label’s circuit.
This Battery-on-circuit solution, designed with expertise from project partners Cisco and Digital Catapult eliminates the need to power the smart labels with an external battery while strengthening the smart labels’ functionality and marketability.
CPI provided support from its electronics and formulation business units to aid in the development of a public demonstrator prototype for real-world testing.
The services that have been provided include thermal evaporation of lithium metal anode coating, electrolyte formulation, cathodic slurry formulations and coatings, battery pouch cell device assembly and battery cell testing.
Additionally, CPI compiled a written report detailing how the technology will be manufactured at larger scales and the potential it could bring to the printed electronics market.