An event I was at earlier this month struck me as a great example of a new technology with immense potential that exhibits just the kind of collaboration between universities and business that we’re all calling for.

It was held at the Hardwick Hall Hotel at Sedgefield, just over the road from NETPark, to demonstrate the work of the Topless project (or Thin Organic Polymeric Light Emitting Semi-Conductor Surfaces).

The project brings together Durham University and Zumtobel (the parent company of Thorn Lighting) and also involves Sumation™, a leading centre of P-OLED materials expertise which is itself a joint venture between Sumimoto Chemical and Cambridge Display Technology, and is developing flexible printed electronics that within a decade will be printed like wallpaper.

Not surprisingly Topless has attracted Technology Strategy Board (TSB) funding. One of the areas in which the TSB was allocated money to invest was in industry-led, highly innovative collaborative research into more energy efficient lighting, lasers and displays.

Not only does the project’s work promise to revolutionise the way we light our homes and offices, it also has the potential to significantly lower energy costs.

It’s a fine example of the practical application of the UK’s world class research and scholarship to help create the kind of innovative and competitive products we need to be properly equipped to face the economic future.

Stewart Watkins is managing director of County Durham Development Company, which is driving the development of NETPark and NETPark Net.

Innovation Connectors are a concept established by One North East with the aim of linking together technology based businesses with university research and to provide strong economic and physical connections to local communities. They also seek to promote community awareness of, and engagement in science, innovation and creativity. As a major partner in the initiative, NETPark is hosting a series of expert panel debates.

The debates are organised by County Durham Development Company, which is driving forward the development of NETPark, on behalf of Durham County Council. NETPark is one of the UK's fastest growing science parks and home to the prestigious Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC).

PETEC, owned and managed by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), is the national flagship facility for the development and exploitation of direct write technologies and flexible functional materials. It is one of only four such centres in the world.

Fittingly one of the first NETPark expert panel debates focussed on the printable electronics sector - forecast to be a US$30 billion industry by 2015.

Scientists are excited by the sheer potential of the applications, scalability and disruptive qualities of this technology. Dr Tom Taylor, Director of PETEC, chaired the debate and is convinced that printable electronics will help to revitalise innovative technology in the north east.

He believes that the region's economy has become far more dynamic over the last 20 years - a sentiment echoed by Professor John Anstee, NETPark Scientific Director and former Senior Pro Vice Chancellor and Sub-Warden at Durham University, who sees PETEC as a "major coup" for the North East.

The panellists point out that printable electronics could affect many day-to-day activities - revolutionising television manufacture and providing high-tech safety solutions to reduce car accidents caused by tiredness. Other applications could include biosensors to monitor health and well-being, and solid state lighting and photovoltaic panels.

Professor Andy Monkman of Durham University, a specialist in research on light-emitting organic materials, added that the technology could transform domestic and commercial lighting.

Its versatility is incredible, and the next step is to turn that potential into commercial reality.

Two of the panellists, Geoff Williams of Thorn Lighting and Dave Wall of DuPont Teijin Films (DTF) are engaged in this next crucial step. Geoff Williams is heading a £3m+ project investigating ways to make solid state lighting a mass-use solution for the future. DTF, whose global R&D facilities are based at Wilton, is developing products for use in the printable electronics supply chain.

As Dr Taylor explains, two companies have already opted to base themselves at PETEC, giving the region a real head start in positioning itself at the forefront of this technology.

Stewart Watkins is Managing Director of County Durham Development Company

Blog entry edited by an administrator on Thu 4 Dec 2008 at 11:37

The Journal’s new Science & Technology supplement is sponsored by the organisation charged by Durham County Council with encouraging innovation and strategic investment in County Durham.

Here, County Durham Development Company’s managing director Stewart Watkins explains why he believes the supplement provides an ideal fit with CDDC’s remit.

“We want to see innovative companies throughout County Durham able to grow, develop and exploit the full potential of a knowledge intensive-friendly business environment.

“We’ve given that desire a real physical embodiment by driving forward, on behalf of Durham County Council, the development of NETPark – the North East Technology Park at Sedgefield here in County Durham.

“The centrespread of this supplement will tell you more about what we see as the true significance for the region of NETPark and our newest initiative, NETPark Net which takes a broad approach to innovation.

“Both developments are bringing enormous benefits to the region’s future economic well-being, and I’d just like to add a few words about why CDDC and Durham County Council, in guiding and shaping that economic future, place so much faith in science, engineering and technology.

“Our objective is to utilise knowledge intensive activities to help build a robust and strong economy in County Durham.

“It’s about the application of science and about new techniques

“With world-leading research in the five universities in the region there’s no shortage of ideas. With the Centres of Excellence established by One NorthEast, we have science, engineering and technology firmly positioned at the heart of our regional strategy.

“And with locations like NETPark we have the innovation connectors that unite the ideas and discoveries with the new techniques and processes that will see the ideas emerge as commercial products.

“Having a UK national flagship facility like the Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC) at NETPark gives it added significance because it typifies the application of science for practical purposes.

“Over the centuries, since even before the invention of the wheel around 300BC, mankind has advanced by a combination of discoveries in the application of power, materials and production and PETEC is about all three.

“So, as we stand at a new stage of our economic development, we congratulate The Journal for providing the ideal platform for showcasing the North East’s key contribution to science, engineering and technology.

View CDDC's Profile

Blog entry edited by an administrator on Tue 2 Dec 2008 at 15:04