David Savastano, Editor02.08.12
Blue Spark Technologies, Westlake, OH, is among the companies positioned for growth in this promising field. Spun out of Eveready in 2002, Blue Spark’s carbon-zinc battery chemistry are targeting segments ranging from battery assisted passive (BAP) RFID, smart cards and smart tags to sensors and Interactive Printed Media, such as books and magazines, posters, greeting cards and clothing.
Demand is growing for printed batteries, and Blue Spark is seeing products moving from pilot to production. To meet the need for its batteries, Blue Spark just opened a new high-volume production plant in West Bend, WI. At full capacity, the plant will be able to produce up to 300 million of its flexible, disposable printed batteries annually.
Matthew Ream, vice president of marketing for Blue Spark, noted that the timing is good for building the new plant.
“We closed our Series B round of financing in December 2010, and coupled with potential market growth and demand we are also seeing, the timing was right,” Ream said. “We are seeing a number of projects that are nearing market readiness and have completed their pilot trials.”
"Our investment in the new Wisconsin facility demonstrates our operational readiness to support wide range market adoption of thin printed batteries that bring 'power to packaging,'” said John Gannon, Blue Spark Technologies' president and CEO.
While West Bend will be the home of the company’s high volume manufacturing facilities, its headquarters will remain in Westlake.
“Our headquarters will remain in Westlake, OH, where we also have our R&D and pilot production facilities,” Ream said. “Our new production plant is in a good location. It was in close proximity to some of our newly acquired equipment, as well as some of our partners in the PE market. We also received a favorable agreement with the West Bend Economic Development Corporation.“
The market for printed batteries is promising, as the flexibility and small size of the batteries allows designers the freedom to develop innovative form factors for their products. As a result, new products are emerging in the RFID, IPM and sensor markets.
“Our two biggest markets are the battery assisted passive (BAP) RFID market and Interactive Printed Media,” Ream said. “Sensors are just now starting to come online, and we are working with chip vendors on EPC Gen 2 temperature data logging chips. We are working with EM Microelectronic on their EM 4324 BAP RFID chip and its follow-up product, the EM 4325, which adds a temperature sensor monitor.”
Ream noted that the West Bend facility has the capability of printing batteries and potentially multiple components.
“Virtually everything in our batteries is produced through high-volume screen printing, although the anodes are laminated in-line,” Ream said. “The long-term vision is to be able to print multiple components on a single substrate, such as printing a flexible circuit at the same time as the battery. We could take a flexible printed substrate and print the batteries roll-to-roll.
“We have the capability of producing up to 300 million printed batteries a year,” Ream added. “The plant is fully operational, and we are excited about opening a manufacturing site in the U.S. rather than outsourcing our production. We are certain we can produce our batteries cost-effectively in the U.S.”