The 'HaRFest' project was part-funded by Innovate UK, with the remainder of the funding being provided by the companies involved. It was completed at the end of September 2016.

The device, which was first discussed in September 2015, can soak up and retain energy from devices such as mobile phones held at close proximity and then use that stored energy to power small sensors incorporated into items such as POS products and branding.

The CPI developed HaRFest in conjunction with long-time CPI collaborator PragmatIC Printing, which has just secured £18m of private investment from firms including Avery Dennison.

Other partners for the project were the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Large-Area Electronics, the University of Cambridge and the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating (Swansea University).

CPI project manager Tim Marsden said the finished article would be perfect for certain types of packaging.

Marsden said: “This came about through an idea from PragmatIC to use flexible substrates and use traditional electronic components, utilising mobile phones as a dedicated NFC reader to draw power.

“It is the internet of things in practice. The benefit of using a phone is that a lot of people have access to the internet on their phones, so connectivity is increasingly available.”

The project was completed on time and within budget, with Innovate visiting the CPI on a quarterly basis to check on progress.  

CPI business development manager Steven Bagshaw said the key now would be the ability to commercialise the product and find the right distributors for it.

“There is a lot of demand from end-users and academics who have good ideas but the key now is to make sure we can make these devices and applications quickly and at a low cost,” said Bagshaw.

“With regards to smart packaging, this will allow people to be able to tell whether the product inside has been tampered with, whether the contents of the packaging have gone off or whether they have exceeded temperature.”

Marsden said he believes that the other companies working in the same space have price points that are a lot higher.

The CPI is currently involved in a number of other projects that Bagshaw and Marsden couldn’t discuss, working with the likes of Unilever, Astra Zeneca and Crown Packaging. 

Its headquarters are in Wilton, Redcar, and it has two other research centres in Darlington and County Durham.