SUINK – Sustainable self-charging power systems developed by INKjet printing HOP ON
Project website: https://www.suink.eu/
Funding programme: European Union – Horizon Europe
Call: HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01
FTMC role in the project: Partner
FTMC Contract No.: 2300-T66
FTMC Budget: €436,250.00
Other country contract No.: AMD-101070112-8
Project Grant Agreement No.: 101070112
FTMC Project Manager: Gediminas Račiukaitis
Industrial demands to reduce component weight in order to increase productivity and energy efficiency have driven the development of embedded functional electronics, enabling significant reductions in the weight and volume of smart products. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, which balance economic, social and environmental dimensions, SUINK focuses on meeting sustainability indicators across the entire value chain, including design, manufacturing, use and end-of-life stages.
The main objective of SUINK is to design and implement sustainable, flexible and printable self-charging power systems (SCPS) capable of supplying energy to a wide range of sensors. These systems will be composed of fully sustainable components:
-
a piezoelectric energy generator based on piezoelectric PLA to harvest electrical energy from mechanical vibrations;
-
a rectifying circuit serving as the electrical interface; and
-
a fully printed biobased supercapacitor acting as the energy storage unit.
The overall solution is based on an optimized combination of biobased conductive, dielectric and piezoelectric inks, applied via inkjet printing, a high-throughput and easily scalable manufacturing process, on biobased flexible substrates.
The printed substrates will be integrated into the following demonstrators:
-
a PLA seat incorporating a temperature sensor;
-
a PLA bracket located inside the vehicle, specifically in the windscreen area, incorporating temperature and humidity sensors;
-
a thermoset composite structure integrating a strain sensor.
Printed foils will be used to create in-mould structural electronics through:
a) plastic injection overmoulding,
b) one-shot hybrid textile processes, and
c) autoclave and sheet moulding compound processes,
aiming at the development of multifunctional components that meet automotive industry requirements.
Beyond sustainable design, manufacturing and use, SUINK also promotes circularity at the end of product life by implementing new recyclability and reusability protocols, ensuring that environmental benefits extend throughout the full lifecycle of the developed components and systems.
