Etulipa, located on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, last week put a big step towards a successful launch in the US market. On the ISA International Sign Expo in Orlando, the company received the second prize for its innovative product Etulipa Carbon. According to CEO Hans Feil the award is a signal that “there is a need for an energy-efficient display that does not interfere with bright light.”
Etulipa, originally from Philips Research and active in electrowetting, has focused on the development of energy-efficient, electronic displays for outdoor advertising. The product is still in development. The company was originally started under the name Miortech, as a company for dimmable automobile mirrors. With a self-developed e-ink technique, real-time advertising can be displayed on large signs. Etulipa is located on the High Tech Campus and hopes to deliver the first products in early 2017.
From the jury report:
“Etulipa Carbon is a new type of electronic changeable copy board or eCCB that doesn’t need LEDs. Invented by the Dutch company Etulipa, it’s called Carbon because of its clear black digital lettering and much lower carbon footprint. It’s a totally innovative idea! This smart eCCB solution uses a clever low-voltage display technique called electro wetting. It is so energy efficient it uses 100 times less electricity than a LED display and can work off-grid. And it’s so much easier to read in direct sunlight. It causes no light pollution so permits are much easier to get. In short: all the advantages of digital CCB; none of the disadvantages. Etulipa Carbon. The brightest idea in ECCBs.”
Feil thinks the first step in the United States would be to start with the replacement of the ‘changeable copyboards’. “Those are the white signs with interchangeable black letters. You come across them at schools, churches, retailers, gas stations and restaurants. These boards are also available digitally but they are illuminated with LED, not energy efficient and difficult to read in the sun. We have a strategic investor from the US, he has seen our demo and was so excited and impressed that he wants to cooperate with us, to bring the digital changeable copy boards and billboards to market. We start with a monochrome version, the Etulipa Carbon.”
Picture: Doeke Oostra, vice-president Business Development at Etulipa, receives the Innovation Award in Orlando.