With printed electronics the two industries engineering and printing come together. Due to the developments in this sector we are able to print solar cells or flexible electronics. A recent invention might shake the world of printed electronics and take it one step further. The Korean battery scientist Sang-Young Lee from Ulsan National Institute and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea has now turned a normal inkjet printer into a machine that prints electronic circuits and supercapacitors (energy storing devices).

The scientists demonstrated their invention in the form of a cup sleeve where a super cap has been printed on. This cap provides a blue and a red LED with power which lighten up according to the temperature of the cup’s content. In a next step Lee wants to increase the capacities of the batteries and develops solutions for printing on different materials.