A UK centre is turning flexible plastics, liquid crystals, and nanostructures into printable electronics and photonics—replacing rigid silicon with materials that can bend, roll, or conform to a surface. This matters because most electronics today rely on expensive, high-temperature fabrication on brittle substrates. Printing and additive processes on flexible materials could dramatically cut manufacturing costs and open up entirely new product categories. The market for these soft-material devices is already estimated in the tens of billions of dollars annually, spanning telecommunications, microelectronics, displays, pharmaceuticals, and structural engineering. If the centre succeeds, the impact will be felt across infrastructure and everyday life: cheaper flexible displays, conformable medical sensors, lightweight communications components, and novel structural materials that combine aesthetics with function. The centre is not pursuing fundamental science—it is a translational hub. It provides the business expertise, pilot prototyping facilities, and industry partnerships needed to push academic discoveries in polymers and liquid crystals toward commercial products. It also trains researchers and policymakers to understand the technologies and market strategies required for exploitation.
View original technical description
CIKC was established to develop advanced manufacturing technologies using new macromolecular material systems in order to capitalise on the strength of UK basic science in areas of polymers, liquid crystals and nanostructures. The emergence of printing, additive processes and low temperature fabrication on flexible (or conformal) substrates challenges the cost base of incumbent technologies. The penetration of soft materials into the electronics and photonics markets has only just begun, but the potential range of applications is very diverse encompassing telecommunications, microelectronics, displays, pharmaceuticals, and structural and aesthetic engineering applications with market estimates measured in $10s of billion per annum. The mission of CIKC is to provide the business and technical expertise, and infrastructure, to enable those with new exploitable concepts to achieve commercial success. The four means by which this is being achieved are (i) by supporting product commercialisation activities and engaging in exploitation activities in close collaboration with industry, for example, developing pilot prototyping facilities (ii) by providing training for those seeking to gain understanding of specific technologies or business strategies (iii) by developing a clear understanding of the overall market needs in the future and optimum strategies for exploitation and public policy design and (iv) by building strong networks with other academic institutions, industry and the policy community.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know