Forum Organic Electronics c/o InnovationLab GmbH

© Forum Organic Electronics

InnovationLab: Bridging the Gap between Science and Business

InnovationLab GmbH (iL) is the joint platform for research and knowledge transfer at the interface of academia and industry in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Since its foundation in 2008 by a strong group of like-minded shareholders, InnovationLab GmbH acts as the managing company of the research & development platform and brings shareholders and partners together for cooperative research in joint facilities. iL is supported by the University of Heidelberg, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and by the companies BASF SE, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and SAP SE.

iL's goal is to create research platforms which allow the partners to work together under one roof across all disciplines and along the entire value chain. The company mainly focuses on cooperative research, transforming inventions into marketable products, and training the next generation. In 2008, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) named the network the winner of their Leading-Edge Cluster Competition.

InnovationLab is initially working on the future technology of printed and organic electronics. This interdisciplinary field requires deep knowledge across multiple domains. iL´s expertise includes a solid understanding of materials, processes and printing technologies. The emphasis is on cost-effective, environmentally friendly production of electronic components such as circuits and sensors. In addition to the support of various research projects iL offers extensive expertise in the development and commercialization of processes and systems for printed electronic structures, circuits and devices, taking customers from small volume lab scale printing to pilot line volumes and beyond.

INFORM - Interfaces in opto-electronic thin film multilayer devices

Within the INFORM project, funded by the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, the team elucidate how interfacial composition, microstructure, structural and energetic order/disorder and molecular conformation at the interfaces impact the optoelectronic phenomena, how they determine the performance of organic and inorganic/organic hybrid devices and their lifetime, and use this gained knowledge to design more reliable structures that can be manufactured over large areas for the benefit of the European technology space.

Most importantly, they use their research activities as the ultimate platform for training highly skilled mobile scientists with strong interdisciplinary skills and insight. The accrued training is widely transferable to other advanced functional materials, electronics & photonics, manufacturing and energy areas. As much of the research activity involves development, processing and application, awareness and capability in relation to these are also established, INFORM will help the EU maintain a supply of much-needed versatile researchers.

POESIE & InterPhase: 15 mio. Euros for Research at InnovationLab

Two ambitious research projects are about to launch their activities at InnovationLab in Heidelberg. Their aim is to resolve fundamental questions regarding the optimization of materials, processes and design schemes for the manufacturing of printed electronics. The outcome of these projects will provide a decisive contribution towards the commercialization of this emerging, resource-efficient technology.

BioLICHT - Printed Bio-Organic Light-Emitting Devices: Towards Sustainable Optoelectronics

The BMBF funded Junior group is working on the use of biodegradable/biocompatible Materials for the fabrication of organic optoelectronic devices through industrial relevant techniques. The rationale is the combination of state-of-the-art high-throughput printing techniques with the topic of more sustainable and “Greener” Technologies.

BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH

German chemical company BASF has announced a grand plan to explore new business opportunities in the 3D printing industry. They established a new group company, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, which commenced operations since 1 September 2017.

The new company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH, and is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany at the site of InnovationLab. The primary focus is establishing and expanding the business with materials, system solutions, components and services in the field of 3D printing.

International joint Research & Development Projects

In the TRISENSE (Global Triangle for Sensor Nodes) program, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the network strengthens its bonds to the high-potential clusters NextFlex San Jose, USA and the Center of Advanced Soft Electronics (CASE) Pohang, Korea. TRISENSE brings together the complementary competencies of InnovationLab associates and its partners NextFlex and CASE in joint R&D projects in the field of Wireless Sensor Nodes

Training the next Generation

The settlement of interdisciplinary working groups from industry and science at one site created an ideal environment for young researchers to exchange experience and resort to the supplementary competence of their colleagues. Apart from realizing their research work, those young scientists, in the early stages of setting up an enterprise, also have the chance to transfer their business ideas with the help of experienced experts successfully. In future, spin-offs may find the necessary infrastructure for their development and production in Heidelberg in a Business Development Center Organic Electronics.