1. Electric power system

Battery monitoring/heating

It provides the long range under given battery weight and cost budget. It is a key requirement for electric vehicle manufacturers. This requires the power battery to be kept in an efficient working state as much as possible. Temperature is a very important factor.

Elevated temperatures (and pressure) can mean malfunctions and possible safety issues, so array of temperature sensors could provide battery temperature monitoring, while heaters could also be printed in the same functional film to help maintain battery at an optimal operating temperature.

2. Electric vehicle cockpit

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

Cockpit is a major opportunity for printed/flexible electronics in automotive applications. Printed pressure sensors are already widely used for seat occupancy monitoring. You may soon find their way into vehicle control panels, providing a larger input range than pure capacitive touch sensors, thereby eliminating mechanical switches.

Occupancy sensors may evolve into multi-point sensors distributed throughout the seat structure to monitor passenger comfort.

Printed/flexible interior heating

Existing in-car heating relies on heating air conditioning, which is very inefficient and not suitable for electric vehicles. Using printed/flexible electronics, heating devices can be embedded in human contact positions, making heating more efficient. This can be extended beyond seats and steering wheels, armrests and center consoles are also available.

Conformality of printed electronics allows heating elements to be placed closer to the surface, making heating more efficient and sensitive. Transparent thermal conductive materials can go a step further, and can be applied directly to the surface of materials such as leather.

New manufacturing of integrated electronics

In-mold electronics is one of the important trends in automotive manufacturing. By combining electronic components and thermoformed plastics, integrated systems such as center consoles and overhead control panels can be made lighter, simpler and easier to manufacture.

Another new manufacturing method is to print electronic devices and dielectric inks directly on 3D surfaces. This can replace wiring harnesses and reduce system weight and complexity.

Cabin display and lighting

Automakers are increasingly adding various displays to their vehicles to differentiate themselves. Integrated design brings more extensive integration opportunities, for example, transparent A-pillars can improve safety; cool ambient lights provide differentiation.

3. Printed/flexible electronics on vehicle exterior

Integrated antenna

The trend of vehicle connectivity is growing, requiring multiple antennas to cover multiple frequency bands. This requires the antenna to be integrated into the body panels, providing market opportunities for in-mold electronics and 3D surface printed electronics. In the future, transparent antennas can also be embedded in car windows.

Exterior lighting

As vehicles become more autonomous, they will need to interact with pedestrians. Low-cost printed/flexible displays are well suited for this application. They have low weight, durability, and good conformality (including in accidents).

External transparent heater

Cameras and lidar in autonomous vehicles or ADAS systems need to maintain a continuous clear field of view. You must ensure that transparent window on the sensor is not obscured by rain, snow, fog or frost. It is recommended to develop new transparent heaters using transparent conductors such as silver nanowires or carbon nanotubes.

Printed/flexible photovoltaics

Nowadays, traditional solar panels use silicon photovoltaic cells. New thin-film photovoltaic cells will become a promising alternative due to light weight and good integrity.