Lowell,
Mass., and Wilmington, Del. – September 28,
2005 – Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator
in developing and commercializing Power Plastic(tm)
that converts light to energy, and Textronics, Inc.,
a pioneer in the field of electronic textiles, today
announced a joint development program to create prototype
garments and fashion accessories with portable, wearable
power generation capabilities.
The technology will utilize Konarka’s light-activated
Power Plastic and Textronics’ electronic textile
systems to provide renewable, wearable energy sources
for personal electronic devices. Today’s techno-savvy consumers are carrying
more and more mobile communication, computing and
entertainment devices, such as phones, digital music
players, cameras and PDAs. Each of these devices
relies on batteries, but their functionality is limited
by the available power and the inconvenience of recharging
or replacing batteries. By combining Konarka’s
Power Plastic and Textronics’ electronic textile
systems into wearable electronics, the companies
will overcome the shortcomings of conventional power
technologies by enabling consumers to have energy
generation ability with them at all times.
According
to Daniel Patrick McGahn, Konarka’s
executive vice president and chief marketing officer,
Konarka’s commercialization strategy centers
on partnering around product applications to extend
and enhance the functionality of those products.
The demonstration products Konarka is developing
with Textronics are an implementation of those plans.
“Our expertise with electronic textile materials,
components and systems is a natural complement to
Konarka’s Power Plastic development,” said
Textronics Chief Executive Officer Stacey Burr.
“Textronics’ technologies will allow for
the end product to have a soft textile-like feel while
Konarka’s materials will provide the renewable
power.”
The
resulting systems will be flexible and integrated
in a way that will retain many of the qualities
of conventional textiles, providing an overall
consumer experience that is more like wearing a
jacket or carrying a messenger bag than charging
a device. Konarka’s
added abilities to provide colored and patterned
Power Plastic technology will allow for innovative
aesthetic solutions.
“This joint effort will show designer-label
manufacturers how we can bring new benefits to consumers
through their everyday clothing and fashion accessories,
including increased levels of convenience, freedom
of use and performance while minimally affecting
the garments’ overall weight, size or appearance,” said
McGahn.
About Textronics, Inc.
Textronics is a developer and producer of electro-textiles
or “e- textiles,” which are fabric
systems that can conduct, warm, illuminate or sense.
The company’s unique technology portfolio
uses the stretch and recovery properties of elastomeric
materials to interact with electronic systems.
Current product technology includes conductive
elastic Textro yarns™, variable resistive
Textro polymer™, flexible elastic Textro
interconnects™ and Textro monitoring™ textile
physiological sensor and garments. Electro-textiles
are used in the apparel, automotive, industrial,
home interior, healthcare, and communications business
sectors to deliver enhanced safety, comfort, heath,
communications, entertainment and aesthetic solutions.
The company is a spin-off from INVISTA S.a.r.l.,
formerly DuPont Textiles and Interiors. Textronics,
Inc. is located in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.
For more information, visit www.textronicsinc.com.
About Konarka Technologies, Inc.
Konarka builds products that convert light to energy – anywhere.
Konarka is the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic
products that provide a source of renewable power
in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial,
government and consumer applications.
Konarka’s photovoltaic nanotechnology is focused
on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and
manufacturable products. Konarka has a broad portfolio
of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished
technical team. Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger
(UC Santa Barbara) is a director, co-founder and
chief scientist for Konarka. Konarka Technologies
is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European
headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research
and development facilities in Austria and Switzerland.
For more information, visit http://www.konarka.com
or contact Tracy Wemett, BroadPR, at 617-868-5031
or tracy@broadpr.com.
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