Billerica – September 15, 2026 -- E Ink Corporation has made an early-stage investment in NewCopper, a privately held U.S. startup developing conductive copper ink, to accelerate a lower-cost alternative to silver ink used in printed electronics and display materials.
E Ink structures investment through a post-money SAFE agreement
The deal gives E Ink's R&D team the opportunity to evaluate NewCopper's copper ink as a conductive material for future displays and electrode applications, given its compatibility with E Ink's existing roll-to-roll coating capabilities. E Ink will also apply its display manufacturing expertise to support NewCopper's production scale-up and commercialization.
NewCopper's formulation targets a key barrier to copper adoption in electronics
Copper offers stronger conductivity than silver at lower material cost but has historically been limited by oxidation susceptibility. NewCopper developed a proprietary low-temperature, reactive, self-passivating copper ink designed to overcome that limitation, with technology originating from joint research by Professor Shenqiang Ren at the University of Maryland and Professor Liangbing Hu at Yale University. NewCopper holds an exclusive license from the University of Maryland for the formulation.
Deal follows E Ink management's involvement with Taiflex in high-frequency PCB materials
The NewCopper investment builds on E Ink management's recent engagement with Taiflex, a market leader in FCCL that is expanding into high-frequency CCL materials for PCBs used in AI and data-center applications. E Ink positions the NewCopper deal as a strategic fit within a broader push toward advanced PCB materials and a more circular, localized supply chain for electronic materials.
Growth in AI data centers and EVs is driving copper demand beyond mining capacity
Expansion of AI data centers, electric vehicles and broader electrification is expected to significantly increase global copper demand. E Ink and NewCopper frame technologies that recover and reuse copper as an alternative to relying solely on newly mined material, aligning with resource efficiency and circularity goals.
Johnson Lee joins NewCopper's board as E Ink's designated director
Johnson Lee, chairman and CEO of E Ink, has taken a board seat at NewCopper as part of the strategic relationship. "E Ink itself spun out of academia into a global technology company, so we recognize both the promise of NewCopper's innovation and the challenges of moving breakthrough technology from the lab to the market," Lee said.