After years of development several firms are finding real world applications for their printed batteries. This report analyzes the opportunities for these products, the strategies of the firms that are manufacturing them, and the printing approaches that they are using. It discusses how the market will evolve in the current worldwide recessionary environment with its lower expectations for the growth of the RFID; a key driver for printed batteries in the past. The report also pinpoints where printed batteries could ultimately offer a cost or manufacturing advantage over today's coin or button batteries. The report also provides profiles of firms that are competing in this sector, the products that they are offering and the markets they are targeting.

Printed batteries are the natural power source for smart packaging, active RFID, powered smartcards, sensor arrays, medical and cosmetic patches and smart bandages; even certain kinds of displays. Not only do printed batteries bring low-cost manufacturing to battery manufacture, but they also enable integrated manufacturing plants to be created in which an entire electronic device including processors, memory and power sources can be created in a single process. And printing batteries is also the obvious way to fabricate power sources on flexible substrates, especially paper. This report provides an in depth discussion of the printed batteries market in 2009 and a forecast of where this exciting new business is headed.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

E.1 Introduction
E.2 Developments in the Past Year and Opportunities Ahead
E.2.1 Smartcards Get New Attention
E.2.2 RFID, ESLs and the Importance of Supply Chain Automation
E.2.3 Patches and Moving Up the Value Chain
E.3 Hard Times: Money for Printable Batteries Development
E.4 Firms to Watch
E.5 Summary of Eight-Year Market Forecasts for Printable Batteries

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Background to this Report
1.1.1 Printable Batteries vs. Thin-film Batteries
1.1.2 Current Prospects for Printable Batteries in RFID
1.1.3 Other (and Better?) Growth Markets for Printable Batteries
1.1.4 Strategies for the Future
1.2 Objective and Scope of this Report
1.3 Methodology of this Report
1.4 Plan of this Report

Chapter Two: Printable Battery Technology

2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Advantages of Printing Batteries
2.1.2 Cost, Economies of Scale and Other Challenges for Printable Batteries
2.2 Printable Battery Chemistries
2.2.1 Zinc Manganese Dioxide
2.2.2 Carbon Zinc
2.2.3 Other Chemistries
2.2.4 Potential for Solid Electrolytes in Printable Batteries
2.3 Printing Techniques Used for Batteries
2.3.1 Screen Printing
2.3.2 Other Forms of Printing Used for Batteries
2.4 Competing Technologie
2.4.1 Button and Coin Batteries
2.4.2 Other Types of Thin-Film Batteries and Fuel Cells
2.4.3 Thin-Film and Organic Photovoltaics
2.4.4 Induction and Energy Harvesting
2.5 Key Points in this Chapter

Chapter Three: Applications for Printable Batteries

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Active and Battery-Assisted RFID
3.2.1 Current Battery Technology Used
3.2.2 Batteries and the Rethinking of RFID
3.2.3 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption by the RFID Sector
3.3 Contactless and Powered Smartcards
3.3.1 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption by Smartcard Sector
3.4 Electronic Shelf Labels/Smart Shelves
3.4.1 Roadmap for Adoption of Printable Batteries in Electronic Shelf Labels
3.4.2 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption by ESL Sector
3.5 Medical and Cosmetic Devices
3.5.1 Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Patches
3.5.2 Smart Bandages
3.5.3 Current Battery Technology Used
3.5.4 Roadmap for Adoption of Printable Batteries in Medical and Cosmetic Devices
3.5.5 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption by Medical and Cosmetic Devices
3.6 Sensors
3.6.1 Distributed Sensor Networks and Printable Batteries
3.6.2 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption in Sensors and Sensor Networks
3.7 Other Potential Applications for Printable Batteries and Total Market Projections
3.7.1 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Consumption by Application
3.7.2 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Battery Powered Products
3.7.3 Eight-Year Forecast of Printable Batteries by Chemistry
3.8 Key Points in this Chapter

Chapter Four: Profiles of Printable Battery Manufacturers

4.1 Introduction
4.2 Blue Spark Technologies
4.2.1 Company Background
4.2.2 Type of Batteries Produced
4.2.3 Customers and Partners
4.2.4 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.3 Enfucell
4.3.1 Company Background
4.3.2 Type of Batteries Produced
4.3.3 Customers and Partners
4.3.4 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.4 Planar Energy Devices
4.4.1 Company Background
4.4.2 Types of Batteries Produced
4.4.3 Customers and Partners
4.4.4 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.5 PowerID
4.5.1 Company Background
4.5.2 Type of Batteries Produced and Printing Technology Used
4.5.3 Customers and Partners
4.5.4 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.6 Power Paper
4.6.1 Company Background
4.6.2 Type of Batteries Produced
4.6.3 Customers and Partners
4.6.4 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.7 prelonic technologies
4.7.1 Company Background
4.7.2 Types of Batteries Produced and Printing Technology Used
4.7.3 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.8. Rocket Electric
4.8.1 Company Background
4.8.2 Type of Batteries Produced and Printing Technology Used
4.8.3 Applications Targeted and Assessment of Business Strategy
4.9 Varta and the GREENBAT Project
4.10 Printable Battery and Fuel Cell Development at VTT
4.10.1 Printable Batteries
4.10.2 Fuel Cells

List of Exhibits

Exhibit E-1: Major Companies Developing Printable Batteries
Exhibit E-2: Worldwide Market for Printable Batteries by Application ($ Millions)
Exhibit 2-1: Structure of Power Paper's Battery Technology
Exhibit 2-2: IEC 60086-3 Specs
Exhibit 3-1: Printable Batteries Market: RFID and Smart Packaging Applications
Exhibit 3-2: Printable Battery Markets: Smartcard Applications
Exhibit 3-3: Printable Battery Markets: Smart Shelf/ESL Display Applications
Exhibit 3-4: Printable Battery Markets: Medical and Cosmetic Device Applications
Exhibit 3-5: Printable Battery Markets: Sensors and Sensor Network Applications
Exhibit 3-6: Worldwide Market for Printable Batteries by Application ($ Millions)
Exhibit 3-7: Worldwide Markets for Printable Battery-Powered Products
Exhibit 3-8: Worldwide Market for Printable Batteries by Battery Chemistry
Exhibit 4-1: Summary of Companies Shaping the Printable Battery Industry
Exhibit 4-2: Blue Spark Technologies' Battery Products
Exhibit 4-3: Blue Spark Technologies Partners
Exhibit 4-4: Planar Energy Devices Products
Exhibit 4-5: Power ID Partners
Exhibit 4-6 Power Paper's Battery Products
Exhibit 4-7: Power Paper Partners