MEDIA RELEASE PR37513
Infinity Group Portfolio Company Power Paper and GE Collaborate to Develop Self-Powered OLED
Lighting
TEL AVIV and NISKAYUNA, N.Y., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet / --
- Will Enable Thin, Flexible Strips of Light Where no Power Source is
Available; Search and Rescue Missions, Naval Applications, Civilian
Safety - All Potential Areas Where This Technology can be Applied
Power Paper, an Infinity Group portfolio company, and GE Global Research,
the technology development arm for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE),
announced today that the companies have signed an agreement to jointly
develop self-powered OLED lighting devices. Using low-cost, high volume
manufacturing processes, these devices could be deployed in a wide variety of
environments from military ships to night-time jogging vests. The
collaboration is supported by an Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research
and Development Foundation (BIRD Foundation) program.
GE is globally recognized as a pioneer in the electric lighting industry
and continues to lead the way in bringing new, innovative lighting
technologies to market. Power Paper develops and licenses micro-power clean
technology based on an innovative paper-thin, flexible, safe,
environment-friendly, printable battery.
John Ouseph, GE Commercial & Industrial Business Programs Manager at GE
said, "Our goal is to design lighting products that are less intrusive, have
greater flexibility and can be easily installed or modified based on changes
in the application. We will build a product that costs less, consumes less
energy with improved reliability and resists vibration and shock. Mobile,
remote-powered light strips are a natural extension of GE's lighting
portfolio, and Power Paper is uniquely positioned to supply thin film,
flexible batteries for this application."
Under the terms of the agreement, the collaboration will combine Power
Paper's novel thin film batteries and GE's industry leading Organic Light
Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. The goal of the GE-Power Paper- BIRD
project is to develop a first generation of self-powered OLED lighting
products and identify next generation technologies with enhanced
capabilities. The length of the program is 12 months. The general
illumination market is estimated at $2.5 billion.
"It is a fabulous opportunity to work with GE and the BIRD Foundation and
we are enthusiastic about the project at hand," said Mr. Zvika Nitzan, chief
technology officer of Power Paper. "It is important to note that Power Paper
batteries do not contain caustic chemicals, and cannot overheat, explode, or
cause burns or electrical shock. They are non-toxic and non-flammable and can
therefore be freely shipped, stored, and disposed of after use. The batteries
contain no heavy metals such as mercury, lead or cadmium, commonly found in
conventional batteries, making them suitable for disposable applications.
Power Paper design and printing processes allows the ability to control shape
and size of the battery according to the device needs. The bottom line: our
batteries help to prevent accidents, reduce shipping costs and enable our
partners to create differentiated products."
The potential applications for lighting devices that are thin, flexible,
lightweight and mobile are virtually unlimited. When the lights go out from a
power outage, imagine strips of light that illuminate hallways and emergency
pathways and even light a whole room in a house. Another example: military
and camping enthusiasts could stick strips of OLED lighting inside their
tents without the need for bulky and noisy generators.
About Power Paper
Founded in 1997, Power Paper Ltd. creates and licenses printable
micro-electronic clean technology and patches. Power Paper's batteries
provide a fully printable, integrable and disposable power source with the
longest shelf life of any printable batteries on the market. The batteries
also deliver a superior electrical performance due to their overall structure
and efficient active inks. In addition, Power Paper printable batteries are
comparatively less expensive. All materials used in the cells are classified
by the U.S. Federal government as non-hazardous waste, disposable after use
in normal municipal waste facilities, making the cells an ideal solution
particularly in environments containing food and beverages. Power Paper is
the 2009 recipient of the commercialization award of the annual IDTechEx
Printed Electronics Europe. The company is a member of the School, Home and
Office Products Association (SHOPA). PowerPaper's collaborations include:
General Electric, Antonio Puig, Body Estetic S.L., Estee Lauder, Germain de
Capuccini, H2O Plus, Parfumerie Douglas Gmbh and University Medical.
Investors are led by Infinity Group, and include Apax Partners, Amadeus
Capital Partners and Bank of America Capital Partners. For more information,
About GE Global Research
GE Global Research is one of the world's most diversified industrial
research labs, providing innovative technology for all of GE's businesses.
Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100
years, developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as medical imaging,
energy generation technology, jet engines and lighting. GE Global Research is
headquartered in Niskayuna, New York and has facilities in Bangalore, India,
Shanghai, China and Munich, Germany. Visit GE Global Research at
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that
is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation
and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more
than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more
Imagination at Work.
contact: Marjie Hadad, marjie@netvision.net.il or +972-54-536-5220.
SOURCE: Power Paper and GE and Infinity
NEWS 
