Flexlines

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Belgium - The Netherlands (Vlaanderen - Nederland)

Date of latest update: 2023-12-16

Description

Description (EN):

Flexible electronics (FE) is seen worldwide as a promising technology because the printing of electronics on thin substrates and foils creates new possibilities. It opens the way to light, thin, flexible, and portable electronic products such as foldable lighting and signage, reusable sensors, roll-up solar cells and displays. Thanks to this innovation, major challenges can be met such as keeping health care manageable due to the introduction of smart patches, smart packaging can improve logistical processes and reduce food wastage due to printed sensors that measure the quality of food. In order to bring the FE sector in Europe to a greater industrial maturity, it is important that the players in this production chain intensify their cooperation. 'Flexlines' brings together leading partners such as TNO, imec, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, TU/e and the universities in Hasselt, Ghent and Leuven. The project aims to develop a state-of-the-art but stable FE pilot line. For example, the centralization of the various process steps will be used in a single clean room at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. A one-stop-shop is also being put in place where partners and companies can have flexible and inexpensive electronic applications made and can count on tailor-made support in the process. In addition, a number of concrete showcases are being developed. An example of this is the possible integration of a smart label in the form of a sensor or screen of less than one tenth of a millimeter thickness on paper. A more complex integration of the technique involves a large surface area with sensors in a deformable plastic surface that can be used to make a dashboard in a car responsive, for example.

Description (NL):

Flexibele elektronica (FE) wordt wereldwijd gezien als een beloftevolle technologie omdat het printen van elektronica op dunne substraten en folies nieuwe mogelijkheden creëert. Het opent de weg naar lichte, dunne, flexibele, en draagbare elektronische producten zoals plooibare verlichting en bewegwijzering, herbruikbare sensoren, oprolbare zonnecellen en -beeldschermen. Dankzij deze innovatie kan tegemoet gekomen worden aan grote uitdagingen zoals het beheersbaar houden van de gezondheidszorg dankzij de introductie van slimme pleisters, kunnen slimme verpakkingen logistieke processen verbeteren en zal voedselverspilling afnemen dankzij geprinte sensoren die de kwaliteit meten van voedsel. Om de FE sector in Europa tot een grotere industriële maturiteit te brengen, is het van belang dat de spelers in deze productieketen intensiever gaan samenwerken. ‘Flexlines’ brengt toonaangevende partners zoals TNO, imec, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, TU/e en de universiteiten in Hasselt, Gent en Leuven samen. Het project wil een state-of-the-art maar stabiele FE pilootlijn uitbouwen. Zo zal ingezet worden op de centralisatie van de verschillende processtappen in één enkele cleanroom op de High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. Er wordt tevens een one-stop-shop operationeel gemaakt waar partners en bedrijven flexibele en goedkope elektronicatoepassingen kunnen laten maken en daarbij kunnen rekenen op op maat gemaakte ondersteuning. Daarnaast worden een aantal concrete showcases ontwikkeld. Een voorbeeld hiervan is de mogelijke integratie van een slim label in de vorm van een sensor of beeldscherm van minder dan één tiende millimeter dikte op papier. Een meer complexe integratie van de techniek omvat een grote oppervlakte met sensoren in een vervormbaar kunststofoppervlak dat gebruikt kan worden om bijvoorbeeld een dashboard in een auto responsief te maken.

Achievements (EN):

INJECTION OVER-MOULDED LIGHT IN CURVED SHAPE: TNO-Holst Center and TNO-Brightlands Materials Center have designed and fabricated an injection over-moulded flexible electronic demonstrator with high strength engineering thermoplastics. High design freedom is presented in this demonstrator since the flexible electronics enable the applicability of the product with significant curvature. Also the integration between engineering thermoplastics and flexible electronics is realized by adhesion, which offers an extensive freedom in product design and tooling design. The injection moulded tool is designed to be suitable with different polymer based flexible electronics and different engineering thermoplastics, which is also simulated to offer an insight on the temperature and stress of electronics during the injection over-moulding process. Based on the simulation, electronics designers can optimise the design of their electronic circuits to maintain the functionality of electronics in the injection over-moulding process. The entire injection over-moulding process is fully automated, and the injection over-moulding cycle time of such demonstrator is in accordance to the typical cycle time of large scale injection moulding consumer electronic casing. Therefore, with the technology developed by Holst Center and Brightlands Materials Center, it is possible to have a one-step manufacture of a flexible electronic product with designed geometry of structural support casing without assembling the electronics into the casing fabricated in a separate injection moulding process. INTEGRATION OF ELECTRODE ARRAYS IN MICROTITER PLATES: Electrode and sensor readout of biological systems has demonstrated the potential to generate a vast amount of additional information on the status of cell and tissue assemblies on chip (Organ-on-Chip), and their changes in properties upon exposure to new drug candidates. Biochemical experiments are generally performed in standardized microtiter wellplates according to ANSI/SBS standards. Therefore, integrated electronic readout of microbiological systems will need to be rendered compatible with these standards in order to fully be introduced in the common way of working of biochemical and pharmaceutical laboratories. With relative large sizing of standard wellplates, large-area electronics technologies are ideally positioned to provide a cost-effective realization technology for smart multiwell plates – microtiter plates with integrated electronic readout and/or stimulation. TNO/Holst Centre has realized a number of prototype demonstrators for the introduction of Metal Electrode Arrays (MEAs), and high density Active-Matrix Electrode Arrays into 3D printed COC microtiter plates. Additionally, the added value of large-area mesh electronics – high density electrode array membranes with open structures in between the electrode pads – has been demonstrated by realisation of suspended electrode arrays in multiwells, enabling fully 3D growth of cells / tissue around the electrode arrays.

Website: http://www.grensregio.eu/

Thematic information

New products and services Knowledge and technology transfer

Specific Objective: Stimulate industrial research and experimental development by expanding the research infrastructure in private and public research institutions as well as by making connections between knowledge institutions

Thematic Objective: (01) strengthening research, technological development and innovation by:

Investment Priority: (01a) enhancing research and innovation (R&I) infrastructure and capacities to develop R&I excellence, and promoting centres of competence, in particular those of European interest

Partners (6)

Lead Partner: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO

Address: High Tech Campus 25, 5656 AE Eindhoven, Netherlands

Legal status: public

Total budget: EUR 1 992 679.00

ERDF budget: EUR 996 339.50

Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

Name: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

Address: Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, Netherlands

Legal status: public

Total budget: EUR 399 972.84

ERDF budget: EUR 199 986.42

Stichting IMEC Nederland

Name: Stichting IMEC Nederland

Address: High Tech Campus 31, 5656AE Eindhoven, Netherlands

Legal status: private

Total budget: EUR 399 999.90

ERDF budget: EUR 199 999.95

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Name: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Address: Oude Markt 13, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Legal status: public

Total budget: EUR 490 561.18

ERDF budget: EUR 245 280.59

Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum - IMEC

Name: Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum - IMEC

Address: Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

Legal status: private

Total budget: EUR 1 479 961.58

ERDF budget: EUR 739 980.79

DSP Valley vzw

Name: DSP Valley vzw

Address: Esperantolaan 4, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

Legal status: public

Total budget: EUR 185 562.05

ERDF budget: EUR 92 781.03

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO

Flexlines

Partners and Projects info

Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

Flexlines

Partners and Projects info

Stichting IMEC Nederland

Flexlines

Partners and Projects info

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Flexlines

Partners and Projects info

Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum - IMEC

Flexlines

Partners and Projects info

DSP Valley vzw

Flexlines

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Flexlines

Project acronym: Flexlines

Project start date: 2018-01-01

Project end date: 2020-12-31

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 4 948 736.55

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 2 474 368.28

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 2 474 368.28.

Documents

Documents on this project are listed below, and organised by category. Please note field "Data source", attached to each document. Keep.eu users are free to use these documents as long as they mention the data source and keep.eu.

Presentations

Flexlines closing event

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Presentation

Data source: http://flexlines.be/

Publication date: 2021-12-21

Document date: 2020-12-10

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Videos / films

Holst - BMC Flexlines - Demo Injection Molded Light

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: http://flexlines.be/

Publication date: 2021-12-21

Document date: 2020-12-08

Languages: en

Flyers

Flexlines enabling flexible electronics prototypes

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Flyer

Data source: http://flexlines.be/

Publication date: 2021-12-21

Document date: 2020-12-31

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Belgium - The Netherlands (Vlaanderen - Nederland)

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2022-08-25

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

94 / 94 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

1 226 / 1 226 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://www.grensregio.eu/en), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-11-04, 2023-01-12 and 2024-02-24.

Fields project name, description and achievement (from 61 projects) translated from Dutch into English using the European Commission's eTranslation machine translation service.

The projects which fields include an eTranslation English text are the ones with the following acronyms: Beton naar hoogwaardig beton, Biomat, Blijf aan Z, Circulair onderhoud, CO2 voor energieopslag (EnOp), De blauwe keten, De Lerende Euregio Scheldemond, Deeldezon, Fotonica pilootlijnen, Grensinfovoorziening VL-NL, Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe, Grenzeloos Biobased Onderwijs, Intelligenter Fruit Telen, Lerend Netwerk Biobouwers, Leve(n) de Bodem, LogistiekLerenZonderGrenzen, Meer natuur voor pittig fruit, Praktijklab Corrosie&Isolatie, REVIVAK (Revival vakmanschap), Entomospeed, PV OpMaat, ENLEB, Smart tooling procesindustrie, 2B Connect, Accelerate³, AQUA-VLAN 2, BIO – HarT, CrossCare, IMPAKT!, GIST, Educavia, CrossRoads 2, IMPROVED, i-4-1-Health, DEMI MORE, Meer natuur voor pittig fruit, Train4SmartServices, Link2innovate, Nano4Sports, See2Do!, eco2eco, GrasGoed – NGAG, Growing a Green Future, SKiN-HUID, Smartsediment, Smart Services Bridge, Trans Tech Diagnostics, Triple F (Food From Food), ZORO, ZULU, Glitch, Intelligenter Fruit Telen, I-QUA, PASSAnT, RHEDCOOP, TERTS, Waterstofregio 2.0 and Werkinzicht.

Languages

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Flexlines

Description

Thematic information

Partners (6)

Partners map

Summary

Documents

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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