A PAPER-THIN lighting technology with the potential to become a major North-East industry is ready to move on to the next development stage.

The solid-state lighting being developed in County Durham could create a thin plastic sheet which would emit as much light as a conventional bulb when an electric current is passed through it.

In December, Dr Geoff Williams, of lighting company Zumtobel, unveiled a prototype of small lighted flat glass squares developed in a laboratory.

Now Dr Williams, who is leading the £3.3m project, is pursuing funding to develop a larger prototype of the technology at Thorn Lighting’s plant in Spennymoor.

A spokesman for Thorn said the project was making “significant progress”.

He said: “Dr Williams is presently in discussions with both the Department of Business and Regulatory Reform and the Technology Strategy Board seeking funding opportunities for a manufacturing phase in the North-East.”

That would see prototypes on a larger scale developed at the printable electronics technology centre, at NetPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham.

The Topless project – Thin Organic Polymeric Light Emitting Semi-conducting Surfaces – is a collaboration between Zumtobel, Thorn Lighting’s parent company, Durham University and Sumation UK. It is part-funded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board fund.

Dr Williams said: “Twenty percent of electricity produced by UK power stations is used purely for lighting.

“If all buildings using lightemitting polymer technology were lit by renewable energy sources, one in five power stations could effectively become redundant.”

He recently returned from showcasing the technology in Korea.

At the launch event at Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield, in December, Dr Williams told an audience, including Minister for the North- East Nick Brown: “Within a decade, we will be printing this technology like we print a newspaper.

“The expertise for developing and manufacturing this technology all lies within North-East England, creating the potential for a major industry to develop over the coming years.”

Eventually, flexible plastic film will be used, allowing the range of uses to cover anything from lighting buildings, medical treatments and car safety, to allowing the inside of an umbrella to light up in the dark.

The technology uses only four to five volts for power, as opposed to current lighting which uses 240v.

On Friday, Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman and Labour MEP for the North-East Stephen Hughes visited Thorn, on the Green Lane Industrial Estate, in Spennymoor, County Durham, for an update on the project.