Meta Materials Inc. and Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. have made strategic collaboration from the design to mass production of next-generation transparent conductive materials. For its part, Meta Materials will contribute its solutions on multi-functional transparent conductive materials. Meanwhile, Panasonic Industry will offer its scalable process technology that delivers fine line low resistance and high transparency conductive films.  

Mainly, this joint effort aims to strengthen the supply of NANOWEB® films and accelerate the growth of the transparent conductive film industry. The companies aim to deliver new applications for the automotive and consumer electronics sectors. Among these applications are transparent film antennas, transparent film heaters, and transparent film electromagnetic shielding.

Today, there is an emerging need for ultra-low sheet resistance and high optical performance films. Especially, they are required for large-area applications, such as flexible solar cells, smart windows for next-generation communications and transparent heaters for automotive applications. According to BCC Research, the global market for transparent conductive films is projected to grow at a 9.2% CAGR, from $4.9 billion in 2020, to $7.6 billion by 2025.

“Our strategic collaboration with Panasonic Industry represents a pivotal moment for META. We have selected Panasonic Industry to mass produce our patented designs due to their outstanding process technology coupled with their automotive-grade quality that supports our common goal to expand the transparent conductive materials sector,” stated George Palikaras, President and CEO of META. Specifically, this collaboration allows META to pool its collective know-how, setting new benchmarks for the industry, says Palikaras.

Since 2018, Panasonic Industry has been mass producing low-resistance and high-transmittance transparent conductive films. This is in response to the demand for high-performance and upsizing touch sensors. Meanwhile, META has been successfully working with Panasonic Industry under a Master Services Agreement for several months. Accordingly, the partnership resulted in the successful qualification and production of several NANOWEB® proprietary designs for various applications.

Meanwhile, Panasonic Industry’s Director of Touch Solutions Business Unit Yuichi Yoshikawa, stated, “We are excited to join forces with META to push the boundaries of transparent conductive materials. This collaboration will be able to provide unprecedented value to the world with the most advanced solutions. Together, we will create new possibilities for various applications, and the industry.”

Mainly, the collaboration between META and Panasonic Industry combines the design power of NANOWEB® metal mesh designs with Panasonic Industry’s leading proprietary and scalable process technology in transparent conductive films. Together, they will offer cutting-edge alternatives that surpass industry standards and set new benchmarks.

Panasonic Industry and Meta Materials will be showcasing the technology at the Panasonic Industry booth at CEATEC 2023. CEATEC, Japan’s leading comprehensive technology exhibition, will happen from October 17 to 20, 2023. Specifically, the companies will demonstrate a microwave oven with a transparent EMI shielding window, transparent antennas, and transparent heaters for deicing and defogging of automotive ADAS sensors. Also, these demonstrations will highlight the superior performance and versatility of the metal mesh solutions developed through this collaboration.