Plextronics
Encyclopedia
Plextronics, Inc. is an international technology company that specializes in printed solar, lighting and other electronics. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, the company's focus is on organic solar cell
and organic light-emitting diode
lighting, specifically the conductive inks and process technologies that enable those and other similar applications. It is an R&D spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University
.
Printed electronics comprise next-generation light, power and circuitry products, including flexible displays, plastic solar cells, organic field effect transistors and organic RFID tags. Plextronics' vision is to enable 15 billion printed electronic devices by 2015.
On August 21, 2008, Plextronics was honored by the Pittsburgh Business Times as one of the region's 100 fastest-growing companies, and the fastest-growing in the Manufacturing/Transportation category.
In 2009, Plextronics has closed a $14 million Series B-1 financing round, which was led by Solvay North America Investments, LLC, a member of the Solvay Group. This marks Solvay’s second investment in Plextronics in three years, raising the Belgian chemical firm's stake to $12 million and making it the largest minority shareholder in the printed electronics materials development company.
Plextronics has raised a total of $41 million in equity capital since 2002.
The company's Plexcore technology is solution
-processable inks for printed electronics
, either conductive, photoactive
, or semi-conductive. The inks are tunable to provide customized solutions.
Plextronics focuses on polymer
design and ink formulation, as well as device physics and analysis.
In 2009 the CEOs of Pittsburgh, PA-headquartered Plextronics, Westinghouse
, Allegheny Energy
, EQT
, CONSOL Energy
and BPL Global announced that they have founded the U.S. Center for Energy Leadership (USCEL). The mission of the group is to establish a stable energy environment for the U.S. that includes energy independence, stable energy pricing and a portfolio approach to meeting increasing energy needs. USCEL will also advocate for new and innovative technological developments that will impact all of these areas. The group will also work to address specific governmental policy, investment and technology issues that have direct bearing on the energy industry.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the company's focus is on organic solar cell
Organic solar cell
An organic photovoltaic cell is a photovoltaic cell that uses organic electronics--a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules for light absorption and charge transport....
and organic light-emitting diode
Organic light-emitting diode
An OLED is a light-emitting diode in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes...
lighting, specifically the conductive inks and process technologies that enable those and other similar applications. It is an R&D spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
Printed electronics comprise next-generation light, power and circuitry products, including flexible displays, plastic solar cells, organic field effect transistors and organic RFID tags. Plextronics' vision is to enable 15 billion printed electronic devices by 2015.
On August 21, 2008, Plextronics was honored by the Pittsburgh Business Times as one of the region's 100 fastest-growing companies, and the fastest-growing in the Manufacturing/Transportation category.
Funding
In 2007, Plextronics completed a $20.6 million Series B financing, led by Solvay North America Investments, LLC, a member of the Solvay Group, an international chemical and pharmaceutical group headquartered in Brussels. Significant investments were also received from Applied Ventures, Firelake Capital Management, Birchmere Ventures, Draper Triangle Ventures and Newlin Investment Company.In 2009, Plextronics has closed a $14 million Series B-1 financing round, which was led by Solvay North America Investments, LLC, a member of the Solvay Group. This marks Solvay’s second investment in Plextronics in three years, raising the Belgian chemical firm's stake to $12 million and making it the largest minority shareholder in the printed electronics materials development company.
Plextronics has raised a total of $41 million in equity capital since 2002.
Technology
Printed electronics takes advantage of printing technology to manufacture electronic devices, including printed organic solar cells, radio-frequency identification tags and flexible displays. Plextronics creates materials that enable the commercialization and manufacturing scale of this emerging technology.The company's Plexcore technology is solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
-processable inks for printed electronics
Printed electronics
Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to create electrical devices on various substrates. Printing typically uses common printing equipment or other low-cost equipment suitable for defining patterns on material, such as screen printing, flexography, gravure, offset lithography and...
, either conductive, photoactive
Photoactive layer
A photoactive layer is used in solar cells for absorbing light. It can be found in all solar cells, but with different panels the photoactive layer is made of different materials. Inorganic layers are made from inorganic materials such as silicon. The film has a layer arrangement of electrodes and...
, or semi-conductive. The inks are tunable to provide customized solutions.
Plextronics focuses on polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
design and ink formulation, as well as device physics and analysis.
In 2009 the CEOs of Pittsburgh, PA-headquartered Plextronics, Westinghouse
Westinghouse
Westinghouse may refer to:In current companies:*Westinghouse Licensing, the brand management division of CBS Corporation, and its licensees:**Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, providing nuclear power related services....
, Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy is an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owns and operates electric generation facilities and delivers electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia...
, EQT
EQT
EQT Partners is a private equity firm with approximately €13 billion in equity capital. Founded in 1994 by Investor AB, EQT Partners manages, through holding companies, numerous funds under the EQT banner. The company employs more than 220 people, of which are approximately 120 investment...
, CONSOL Energy
Consol Energy
Consol Energy is an energy company headquartered in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, suburb of Cecil Township, in the Southpointe complex. It is one of the US's largest coal mining companies, along with Peabody Energy and Arch Coal...
and BPL Global announced that they have founded the U.S. Center for Energy Leadership (USCEL). The mission of the group is to establish a stable energy environment for the U.S. that includes energy independence, stable energy pricing and a portfolio approach to meeting increasing energy needs. USCEL will also advocate for new and innovative technological developments that will impact all of these areas. The group will also work to address specific governmental policy, investment and technology issues that have direct bearing on the energy industry.
See also
- Conductive inkConductive ink'Conductive ink' is an ink that conducts electricity.These materials may be classed as fired high solids systems or PTF polymer thick film systems that allow circuits to be drawn or printed on a variety of substrate materials such as polyester to paper...
- IMECImecImec is a micro- and nanoelectronics research center headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, with offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, USA, China and Japan. Its staff of about 1,900 people includes more than 500 industrial residents and guest researchers...
- Multi-junction
- Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer
External links
- Official website of Plextronics, Inc.
- IMEC to develop organic multi-junction solar cells for Plextronics