This talk presents a rationale for ecodesign portable batteries by re-thinking their life- cycle under an environmentally conscious framework. Through careful device design and advocating for a ‘fit-to-purpose’ approach, the development of these batteries is paired with the application value chain, in such a manner that even the power source end-of-life is redefined according to the use-case scenario. Several examples of these ecodesigned portable power sources will be
presented. Firstly, a paper-based battery commercialized by Fuelium to power portable diagnostic devices. These liquid activated batteries can be fabricated under the same procedures used in the rapid test industry and have shown the ability to power the most relevant features needed in portable medical devices, such as sensors, displays, wireless communications or heating. Then, further battery concepts developed at BCMaterials will be introduced, such as a bio-based battery using laser induced graphene current collectors in a cardboard tape format for smart packaging, as well as different approaches of biodegradable batteries for precision agriculture and environmental monitoring. Developed under this rationale, environmental sustainability has been placed as a core priority to guide the batteries’ conception and materialization, from materials to end-of-life. Hence all materials used as electrodes, electrolytes, or structural components are abundant, non-toxic and renewable; selected to meet the specific end-of-life requirements and endow a safe and ethical manufacturability.

Indium tin oxide is widely used in transparent applications such as heated glass, antennas, touch screens or smart windows, but has limitations when it comes to e.g. brittleness and low resistances. Metal mesh structures offer a cheaper alternative for truly flexible and low resistance applications.A self-assembled crack template approach enables a fast R2R production on a large-scale. The metal mesh foil based on PET or PC shows both high transparency and low optical haze.

Augmented Reality (AR/XR) devices are a fast-expanding part of the wearable electronic industry that has attracted significant attention in recent years. One aspect that has hindered their growth and penetration into the broader consumer market is the lack of control of ambient lighting that in tandem with the image combiners such as waveguides control the image display contrast in different lighting conditions. Some technologies such as photochromic and twisted nematic LCDs have been attempted to address this issue. However, their optical and environmental performance was not considered acceptable. Guest host liquid crystals are a new class of materials that are now being successfully employed in commercial AR/XR eyewear to address this issue. In addition to enabling the required image contrast in different lighting conditions, the GHLCs have demonstrated the ability to reduce the overall power consumption of the device and as such extend the battery life during operation. This presentation will focus on this technology, its performance, and implementation in select XR devices.