Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe

2. Photonics Research and Innovation Challenges
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transport, healthcare, gaming, packaging & logistics,
food, and pharmaceutics. Specific information
on the consequent economic impact in terms of
either turnover or job creation is therefore not currently
available. However, the overall OLAE market,
including Flexible Electronics devices, OLED lighting
and displays, and OPV, is expected to grow from its
present value of €1 billion to between €100–200
billion, depending on the source consulted.
Display-enabled rich visual communication will
trigger the next communication revolution for
professional users, offering attractive alternatives
to the less effective collaboration tools of today,
thereby avoiding the need for many travel-intensive,
face-to-face meetings. In Europe alone, this is
expected to result in a 20% reduction in business
trips, saving 22 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions
per year. At the same time, the deployment of
such systems will contribute directly to increased
productivity in several other markets, especially
in the service sector. This sector alone generates
75% of the EU GDP, and increased productivity
accounts for 50% of its annual growth. Europe
is ideally placed to establish a leadership position
in this sector, being home to many of the largest
system integrators and having unique strengths
in end-user centric and application-driven design.
As well as the advanced 3D displays themselves,
additional components will be required to create
a rich visual experience for the user. The business
multiplication effect thus generated is estimated
to be a factor of 3 for the low-end segment, rising
to a factor of 10 for the high-end segment. It is
estimated that global sales of advanced 3D displays
will reach €10 billion by 2021, with a 35% share
for European companies, and a show CAGR of
15% over the period 2021–2025. This will increase
the overall annual turnover to some €36 billion by
2025. The realisation of this ambition will require
the development of a European eco-system. The
development of such systems will require highquality
advanced engineering as well as the involvement
of experts in the fields of psychology,
sociology and user experience. This is expecetd
to generate approximately 5000 highly qualified
new jobs in science and engineering. Also, the
job creation in production is predicted to reach
14 000, along with an additional 28 000 jobs in
sales and services.
In the short term, the Photonics PPP will contribute
greatly to the consolidation of the European lighting
industry’s current number one position, and
further offers the opportunity to outpace the competition
from other regions through focussing on
the added-value lighting, rather than cost alone.
In the longer term Organic Large Area Electronics
has a huge potential to build new businesses and
new jobs for Europe.
Left: Energy-efficient buildings rely
on innovative lighting installations
and concepts. © Fotolia
Right: Immersive visualization systems
to support professionals & scientists,
here at RWTH Aachen. © Barco nv