OPERA Welcomes New Members

OPERA PROJECT WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS PATRICK VUILLERMOZ OF PLASTIPOLIS, PROFFESOR STERGIOS LOGOTHETIDIS OF LTFN AND BERNHARD SCHWEIZER OF INNOVATIONLAB (iL)

Above: Mr. Patrick Vuillermoz, Plastipolis, Professor Stergios Logothetidis of LTFN and Dr.Bernhard Schweizer of InnovationLab.

Plastipolis is a SMEs cluster network including most of the leading plastic industry clusters in Europe and nanotechnology for Plastic. Their relation with other European clusters and SMEs will support the communication and dissemination of the project. Plastipolis is France’s only industry and research cluster covering the plastic processing industry. It represents over 35000 employees in more than 1000 firms with a combined turnover of 8 billion € of turnover. The cluster currently has 195 members, including 17 research organisations, 150 industrial companies, both Large and SMEs, 10 Regional/local authorities and 12 Education centres.
- Plastipolis has experience in, and links to, a number of other European research projects including: MULTIHYBRID Project (led by Proplast, Italy, FP6), CORNET BIOPOLYMERS (led by Ecoplus, Austria, FP6), COTECH Project (led by Fotec, Austria, FP7), Interplast (French/Italian inter-regulatory project), CLUSTERPLAST (FP7 “region of knowledge” program – inter-cluster project aiming to build a joint action plan for the polymer processing industry in Europe).
- Our initiatives in the OPERA field:
- Plastipolis has established a set of 6 strategic technology programs. One of them is devoted to smart plastics meaning the implementation in plastic parts either of silicon based chips or of organic electronic polymer. The key player of this strategic program is CEA-Liten in Grenoble, France, but it involves a set of innovative companies (SMEs or big firms such as Schneider Electric).
- Our interest for OPERA:
- Organic electronics for large array application is one of the major of the Plastipolis member companies (material converters as well as OEMs). A specific seminar on this matter, organised by Plastipolis, is going to take place on June 16th in Lyon, France.
-To join OPERA group represents for Plastipolis the opportunity to get involved with the leading R&D players in this field in Europe.
For more information go to http://www.plastipolis.fr/index1.php?lg=gb

LTFN (http://ltfn.physics.auth.gr) is established at the Physics Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) in Thessaloniki, Greece. LTFN/AUTh is internationally acknowledged for its’ 18 year-old experience in Thin Films and Nanomaterials, Nanometrology and Optical Technology. LTFN/AUTh owns an excellent infrastructure for performing R&D activities related to Organic Electronics and is active on: The development of organic semiconductors and electrodes by vacuum & wet methods, barrier layers for the encapsulation of flexible electronic devices, Investigation of optical, electrical, morphological properties & charge-transport mechanisms, Modelling for simulation of structure of materials & devices, Applications in flexible organic electronic devices, OPVs, OLEDs for lighting, circuits, Training, Conferences (http://isfoe.physics.auth.gr/, http://nnconf.physics.auth.gr/) Summer Schools, Post-Graduate program including subjects related to organic electronics (http://nn.physics.auth.gr).

LTFN/AUTh is also coordinating the Thematic Research Network "Nanotechnologies & Nanobiotechnologies" (NANONET http://www.nanonet.gr) with more than 140 members from Greece and abroad. NANONET includes various thematic areas (clusters), and one of the main areas is related to Organic Electronics. LTFN also collaborates and networks with more than 100 worldwide research organizations and during the last years. LTFN/AUTh has participated (e.g. POLYNET) and has successfully coordinated several Research Projects related to Organic Electronics (e.g. FP5: TransMach, FP6: FLEXONICS, FP7: OLAtronics).

LTFN/AUTh is motivated to support OPERA’s main goal and thus strengthen Europe’s position in Plastic Electronics by interaction and exchange of European clusters in Organic & Large Area Electronics through participation of the related activities performed in Thessaloniki, Greece. In this area, several initiatives such as the creation of Thessaloniki Innovation Zone, promote exploitation of new knowledge for commercial purposes, aiming at the economic development of the region.
For more information go to http://ltfn.physics.auth.gr

InnovationLab (iL) is an application-oriented research and transfer platform of business and science in the German Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region. It was jointly founded by the six companies BASF SE, Freudenberg & Co. KG, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Merck KGaA, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, SAP AG, and the universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim.
iL is responsible for the management of the cluster Forum Organic Electronics which was awarded with a government grant of € 40 million in the Cluster of Excellence competition of the German Government in 2008. Within the field of Organic Electronics, the company focuses on following research areas:
• Organic Photovoltaics
• Organic Logic and Memory
• Organic Sensors
• Organic Light-Emitting Diodes
All projects are based on printing technology enabling low cost mass production. Additionally, these areas are supported by competence centers in simulation, synthesis, analytics and printing technology.
iL has joined the OPERA project because of the opportunity to contribute to a consolidated European strategy in the development of Organic Electronics. With its specific competencies, iL wants to be part of the joint effort to strengthen Europe’s worldwide leadership in this future technology.
For more information go to http://www.innovationlab.biz/index.html.en

The Opera partner’s welcomes and looks forward to working with these new members to achieve the overall objectives of the project.