A clearly revolutionary “light emitting wallpaper” could start to replace light bulbs as early as 2012, according to the Carbon Trust.
Moreover, the organic LED lighting technology offers the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions and is considerably more energy-efficient even than current-generation energy-saving light bulbs. Not only that, it could be used for TV and computer screens.
The Welsh company behind the “ultra-efficient” organic LED (OLED) lighting technology has been awarded a £454,000 grant by the Carbon Trust to help take the concept forward.
Besides being flexible, the OLED materials being pioneered by Lomox require a very low operating voltage (between three and five volts), which means the technology can be powered by solar panels and batteries, making it ideal for applications where mains power is not available, such as roadside traffic warning signs.
According to the Carbon Trust, lighting in buildings accounts for a sixth of total electricity use in the UK. It is claimed that OLED technology may be 2.5 times more efficient than standard energy-saving bulbs.
The trust says it has been estimated that, by replacing current lighting technologies, it could reduce annual global CO emissions by more than 2.5million tonnes by 2020 and approaching 7.4million by 2050. That is roughly equivalent to a quarter of the annual carbon emissions of Wales – or the annual emissions of the city of Birmingham.
Ken Lacey, CEO at Lomox, said in a statement that his company’s OLEDs were more efficient, cost-effective to produce and “do not suffer from the oxidation defect of other polymer OLEDs”, providing “substantially longer lifetimes”. Operating lifetime has traditionally been a problem with OLED technology, but Lomox has found a way to achieve significantly longer lifetimes than fluorescent lamps.
The technology will apparently also be more efficient (producing 150 lumens/watt) as it emits light only along one axis.
OLEDs can produce a more natural looking light than other forms of lighting.
Although regarded as being Welsh, Lomox’s head office is at Wilmslow, in Cheshire. However, development is being carried out at the OpTIC Technium facility in St Asaph, on the north Wales coast.
The OpTIC Technium was set up as a catalyst for growth in the optoelectronics industry and acts as an incubator for new hi-tech companies, a technology centre for research and product development, and a business and training centre.
It is one of a network of Techniums established in Wales since 2001 with funding from the EU and the Welsh Development Agency. There is no systematic equivalent in Scotland.
Mark Williamson, of the Carbon Trust, said that the Lomox technology offered the potential to produce ultra-efficient lighting for a wide range of applications, tapping into a huge global market.
“It’s a great example of the kind of innovation that makes the UK a hotbed of clean technology development,” he claimed.
The challenge for Britain will, of course, be how to capture meaningful manufacturing from technologies such as this as opposed to licensing such activity to countries where unit manufacturing costs are perceived to be lower – though this depends on how the carbon footprints of such activities and subsequent export and distribution are measured.
The Carbon Trust is currently on the lookout for other technologies with significant carbon-saving potential to receive up to £500,000 of grant funding through its applied-research scheme.
The trust has recently launched an open call for applications that will close on February 18. Applications can be made at www.carbon
trust.co.uk/appliedresearch