LOPEC 2023: International industry platform to experience flexible and printed electronics
From 28 February to 2 March 2023, LOPEC will once again bring the international printed electronics industry together in Munich. For three days at the Messe München ICM, the leading trade fair and the most important conference for flexible, organic and printed electronics will look at the latest industry trends and present innovations for one of the key technologies of the 21st century.
Printed electronics applications are becoming increasingly important. They are the driving force for many innovations in sectors such as consumer electronics, automotive, and medical and pharmaceutical. “With its combination of exhibition and conference, LOPEC demonstrates in many ways the current state of flexible and printed electronics and shows the huge potential that still lies in this exciting technology and has now arrived on the market,” says Armin Wittmann, LOPEC exhibition director. He adds: “We once again expect more than 150 international exhibitors in the exhibition area.” Dr Klaus Hecker, managing director of the OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association), an international working group within VDMA, explains: “The market for flexible and printed electronics continues to show strong growth. New technological approaches both in production and in the end products are the basis for significantly increasing energy and resource efficiency along the value chain. Printed electronics can thus offer sustainable solutions for the challenges of our time. Our industry will demonstrate this impressively at LOPEC 2023.”
“The LOPEC Conference is the world’s most important communication platform for the industry. As always, it’s geared to industry experts and new users from various sectors,” says Wolfgang Mildner, general chair of the LOPEC Conference. “The presentations given by top-class representatives from industry and research will provide valuable insider knowledge and show what is currently moving the industry and where the journey will take us in the future.” The around 200 presentations will be selected by an international panel of experts and offered over three days in various conference modules aimed at company representatives, developers, and scientists.
LOPEC 2023 will focus on two key areas—Smart Living and Mobility. Printed electronics offers compelling products particularly for the automotive and aviation sectors: from sensors in vehicle seats and electrochromic windows, to ultra-flat touchscreens in the cockpit or touch surfaces integrated seamlessly into the steering wheel and centre console. Printed electronics also opens up completely new opportunities in medicine and everyday life, where, for example, intelligent pharmaceutical packaging, fitness trackers, smart textiles or vital sensors make daily life easier, smarter and also more environmentally friendly. Many of these applications contribute directly to sustainability, which is fundamentally linked to the areas of Smart Living and Mobility. Printed electronic components help save weight and energy, for example, make supply chains more efficient, and conserve resources. New fields of application in which printed electronics plays an increasingly important role are also emerging, such as the IoT or 5G/6G.
An extensive supporting program with an exhibitor forum and panel discussions will accompany LOPEC 2023. The Start-up Forum will offer a stage for young talents in the industry. Selected founders will present their business ideas in short pitches to find partners and investors for their ideas. A jury will choose the best presentations which will then receive the LOPEC Start-up Award on the evening of the first day of the trade fair. “To help visitors plan their visit even better and keep track of all the programme highlights and exhibitors, we will be offering the new LOPEC app in 2023,” says LOPEC exhibition director Armin Wittmann.
Caption: LOPEC 2023 is expected to bring together more than 150 international exhibitors (photo: Messe München)