The OE-A Competition is entering its next round and invites young talent, start-ups, companies and research institutions to submit their forward-looking ideas and products in the field of flexible, organic and printed electronics.
Entries are now being accepted. All projects will be presented to visitors from all over the world at LOPEC 2026 (24-26 February) in Munich. The competition is organized annually by the OE-A, the international working group for flexible, organic and printed electronics within VDMA.
“An exciting time lies ahead. We look forward to receiving creative and market-relevant projects. Every year, we are impressed by the diversity and innovative strength of the projects submitted. It’s especially rewarding to see that many of the submitted solutions focus on sustainable applications,” explains Dr Klaus Hecker, managing director of OE-A. “Many of the submissions show that our technology can help create products that are more environmentally friendly across their entire life cycle – from sourcing materials to end-of-life disposal.”
Three categories, many opportunities
Participants can submit their entries in one or more of the following categories:
*Prototypes and New Products
*Freestyle Demonstrator
*Best Publicly Funded Project Demonstrator
An international jury of experts from renowned companies and research institutions will evaluate the submissions. The application deadline for OE-A member companies is 26 September 2025, and the final demonstrators must be submitted by 23 January 2026.
Visibility at LOPEC 2026 – and beyond
All submitted products and projects will be presented at the OE-A stand at LOPEC 2026 – a leading international trade fair for printed electronics in Munich. The winners will receive their awards at the official LOPEC Award Show on 25 February. In addition, all participants will benefit from year-round visibility: The OE-A will present the projects on oe-a.org and accompany the presentation with targeted press relations and activities on its social media channels.
Public Choice Award and web seminar
Visitors to LOPEC will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite project on site and thus help decide the winner of the Public Choice Award. “Our stand will be a crowd puller – come by, discover the most impressive ideas and cast your vote,” says Klaus Hecker.
In addition, the OE-A will host a web seminar in April 2026, where the winners in all categories will present their projects to the international expert community. This digital format has been very popular for years and offers winners additional visibility beyond the competition and the trade show.
Further information on participation and the application documents can be found on the
OE-A website.
The Winners of the OE-A Competition 2025
Best Prototype and New Product: Health Patch Development Platform, Lohmann Gmbh & Co. KG, DE
Best Freestyle Demonstrator: Fully Additive Manufactured Light Bulb, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Lehrstuhl FAPS, DE
Best Publicly Funded Project: Hydrogen Tanks Shock and Fatigue Detection sensors, Arkema, FR
Public Choice Award: Smart Hard Hat, CeNTI – Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, ES
This competition sounds like a fantastic opportunity for students and startups working on cutting-edge printed electronics. I’m especially curious to see what fully additive solutions come out of the Freestyle Demonstrator category.