Printable expansion

The Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC) in north east England is to receive a £20m investment to enhance its product development facilities.

Of the new money, £12m will come from the UK government's Advanced Manufacturing Strategy, with a further £8m from regional development agency One North East.

In the next four years it is estimated that the investment will stimulate the creation of up to 250 jobs in the north east and up to 1,500 jobs nationally.

PETEC was established in 2006 by One North East and the County Durham Economic Partnership, and is a division of the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

The centre connects researchers with commercial partners, helping them to identify the materials, industrial steps and investments required to bring products to market quickly.

The government investment aims to cement the centre's role as a national base for the printable electronics sector, the global market for which is forecast to grow to £15bn by 2015 and £125bn by 2025.