The standout feature of the EDGE Line is its ultra-slim form factor. At only 6mm thick, these RAIN RFID antennas do away with the traditional bulky housing that has long been a hallmark of industrial UHF RFID antenna design. Despite ditching the enclosure, Kathrein has maintained an IP54 protection rating across the range, meaning the antennas can handle exposure to dust and splashing water without issue. That makes them viable for both indoor warehouse environments and outdoor logistics yards where weather resistance matters.

The antenna family includes two wide-range versions, giving integrators flexibility depending on read zone requirements. Each unit features a TNC antenna socket mounted on the rear, keeping cable connections tidy and out of the way during installation. The housing-free design also simplifies mounting, allowing the antennas to be integrated flush against surfaces or embedded into existing infrastructure with minimal visual impact.

Sustainability is another thread running through the EDGE Line’s development. Kathrein says the antennas are manufactured using 30% recycled materials, a meaningful step for a sector that has historically paid little attention to the environmental footprint of its hardware. As more organisations face pressure to demonstrate sustainable supply chain practices, choosing RFID infrastructure with a lower material impact could become a differentiator.

The decision to strip back to a housing-free design reflects a broader trend in RFID hardware development. System integrators and end users are increasingly looking for components that can be deployed in tight spaces, whether that is on conveyor systems, inside retail fixtures, or at dock doors where bulky equipment creates obstructions. The EDGE Line addresses this demand without sacrificing the durability that industrial RFID deployments require.

Kathrein Solutions has announced that the EDGE Line antennas are expected to be available from Q3 2026, with full technical specifications accessible through the company’s antenna data sheets. For logistics operators and IoT solution providers evaluating their next-generation RFID infrastructure, the EDGE Line represents a compelling option that balances performance, size, and environmental responsibility.

Read more at https://www.kathrein-solutions.com/en/news/edge-line-kathrein-solutions-presents-new-antenna-family/

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At the heart of this shift is the digital product passport, or DPP. Driven largely by EU regulatory requirements, DPPs create a persistent digital identity for physical products. Each item carries a unique identifier, typically encoded on a UHF RFID tag or NFC chip, that links to a rich dataset covering material composition, manufacturing origin, repair history, and recycling instructions. Unlike a barcode that only identifies a product type, RFID-enabled passports identify the individual item and follow it from factory floor to recycling facility.

Material identification is where RFID proves especially valuable for recycling operations. When a garment or electronic device arrives at a sorting facility, its embedded tag can be read automatically and at speed, even without line of sight. The associated data tells operators exactly what materials are present, whether certain components need special handling, and which recycling stream the item belongs in. This is a significant step up from manual sorting, which is slow, error-prone, and often results in recyclable materials ending up in landfill simply because they could not be identified in time.

Reuse tracking adds another dimension. RFID tags persist through multiple ownership cycles, meaning a product that is resold, donated, or refurbished can carry its full history forward. A secondhand electronics retailer can scan an incoming device and instantly access its service record. A fashion resale platform can verify the authenticity and provenance of a pre-owned item. Each transaction gets logged against the product passport, building a richer picture over time and giving consumers genuine transparency about what they are buying.

Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, legislation is accelerating adoption. Under EPR frameworks, manufacturers bear financial and operational responsibility for their products after the consumer is finished with them. RFID provides the audit trail that makes compliance practical. Brands can demonstrate how many of their products were collected, what proportion were recycled versus sent to landfill, and where gaps exist in their recovery networks. Without item-level tracking, these obligations would be nearly impossible to meet at scale.

The EU is the primary regulatory engine here. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which began rolling out sector by sector from 2025, mandates digital product passports for categories including textiles, batteries, and electronics. The regulation specifies that product information must be accessible via a data carrier on the product itself, and RFID fits that requirement neatly. UHF RAIN RFID handles high-volume logistics and sorting scenarios, while NFC enables consumer-facing interactions through a simple smartphone tap.

Several pilot programmes are already demonstrating what this looks like in practice. Fashion brands are embedding UHF tags in garment care labels that link to material composition data and local recycling options. Battery manufacturers are using RFID to track cells through production, use, and collection for second-life applications in energy storage. Electronics producers are tagging components to streamline disassembly and recovery of valuable rare earth metals.

The infrastructure challenge remains real. Recycling facilities need RFID readers installed at intake points. Data platforms must be interoperable so that a passport created by one manufacturer can be read by any authorised party downstream. Standards bodies including GS1 and ISO are working to define common data structures and communication protocols, but industry-wide alignment is still a work in progress.

What is clear is that the circular economy cannot function on good intentions alone. It needs data, and it needs that data attached to the product itself. RFID delivers exactly that, turning every tagged item into a node in a transparent, traceable, and accountable product lifecycle. As regulatory deadlines approach and consumer expectations shift, the business case for RFID-enabled circularity is becoming difficult to ignore.

The post RFID and the Circular Economy: Closing the Loop on Product Lifecycles first appeared on RFID News.

Retail Leading the Charge

UK retailers have been among the earliest and most enthusiastic adopters of RFID technology. Major high street brands and grocery chains are deploying UHF RFID at item level to tackle inventory accuracy, which typically jumps from around 65% to above 95% after implementation. Companies such as Checkpoint Systems, which manufactures over two billion RFID tags annually, and Keonn, which has partnered with retailers including John Lewis and Boots, are helping UK stores unlock benefits ranging from automated stock replenishment to loss prevention and self-checkout innovation. The rise of e-commerce fulfilment has further accelerated demand, with over 5,000 UK logistics and retail companies now integrating RFID with IoT platforms to gain end-to-end supply chain visibility.

The NHS: A Global Benchmark for Healthcare RFID

Perhaps nowhere is the UK’s RFID story more compelling than in the National Health Service. Several NHS trusts have become global exemplars for hospital asset tracking. University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust operates the largest GS1-compliant passive RFID location system in the NHS, tracking 40,000 medical devices through more than 120 fixed readers and 350 connected antennae. Staff report spending 50% less time searching for equipment, translating to potential annual savings of GBP 2.6 million.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has cut average device search times to under 43 seconds using RFID, saving an estimated 88,000 staff hours per year across 2,500 employees. Their implementation earned recognition from NHS England and produced the Global Digital Exemplar blueprint for RFID and RTLS deployment. Other trusts, including NHS Lanarkshire, Mid Cheshire Hospitals, Royal Papworth Hospital, and United Lincolnshire Hospitals, are following suit with programmes covering everything from infusion pump tracking to cancer sample traceability. Many of these roll-outs fall under the Scan4Safety programme, a Department of Health and Social Care initiative promoting GS1 standards across clinical settings.

Key UK Integrators and Solution Providers

The UK benefits from a strong ecosystem of specialist RFID companies. CoreRFID brings over two decades of experience in tailored tracking and software solutions. RFiD Discovery has carved out a niche in healthcare and aviation baggage tracking, and is currently in discussions with NHS trusts to deploy automated contact tracing for infection control. Peak Technologies provides enterprise-grade RFID for supply chain management, while Zebra Technologies, Honeywell, and Impinj continue to expand their UK presence with hardware and software innovations spanning readers, tags, and cloud analytics platforms.

Government and Regulatory Tailwinds

The UK government’s push toward smart city infrastructure and digital public services is creating favourable conditions for RFID adoption. The Modern Digital Government Roadmap, published in January 2026, outlines plans to modernise public sector operations through technology including automated identification and data capture. Meanwhile, the EU Digital Product Passport regulation, which begins mandating item-level traceability for select product categories in 2026, is prompting UK manufacturers and exporters to invest in RFID-enabled compliance systems, even post-Brexit.

Additional funding signals reinforce the trend. The government has committed GBP 2 billion to artificial intelligence between 2026 and 2030, alongside GBP 500 million for an R&D Missions Accelerator Programme. These investments are expected to benefit RFID indirectly by advancing the AI and IoT platforms that increasingly underpin modern tag-reading infrastructure.

Opportunities Ahead

Looking forward, the convergence of RFID with AI, cloud computing, and IoT represents the biggest growth opportunity for UK adopters. Sustainability is another driver, with organisations embedding RFID into reusable packaging and circular economy workflows to improve lifecycle tracking and reduce waste. While challenges remain around upfront costs and SME awareness, the combination of proven NHS deployments, strong retail momentum, and supportive government policy positions the UK as a leading RFID market in Europe and beyond.

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The recognition was unplanned. Faced with seven finalists in the most competitive category of the evening, the jury decided to create an additional prize specifically for Ephem. That kind of spontaneous distinction says something about where the industry’s attention is heading.

Ephem labels tackle a problem that most connected packaging overlooks entirely. Brands invest heavily in sustainable materials, recycled substrates, and plant-based inks, only to attach a conventional NFC or UHF RFID inlay built from multiple layers of plastic and metal. Those inlays can persist in landfill for a century or more. Ephem replaces the typical seven-layer plastic construction with a four-layer architecture using FSC-certified paper, a conductive ink antenna, adhesive, and a release liner. There is no PVC, no PET, and no chemical etching involved.

The result is a fully functional NFC or UHF RFID label that delivers the same read range and chip compatibility as its conventional counterpart, but is certified compostable within 90 days by DIN CERTCO and TUV Rheinland. It is also recyclable in standard paper streams, verified by PTS Paper.

Milan is the third major European event to spotlight the technology in under a year. Ephem won the LuxePack in Green Award 2025 in Monaco on its very first entry, then reached the finals at the Cosmetic 360 Awards 2025 in Paris. Three events, three signals, all pointing toward growing industry demand for sustainable smart labelling.

The timing aligns with regulatory pressure building across Europe. The EU Digital Product Passport regulation takes effect in 2027, making connected labels mandatory for cosmetics brands. That obligation will drive massive adoption of RFID and NFC inlays. The question is whether brands will default to the cheapest plastic chip available or choose a material that matches the sustainability credentials of the rest of their packaging.

Philippe Henin, founder of Ma Balise, put it simply: brands spend years making their packaging irreproachable, then compromise it all with a plastic chip nobody questions. Ephem exists to close that gap.

For brands preparing for the Digital Product Passport mandate, Ephem offers a route to compliance that does not undermine their environmental commitments. And as Milan just demonstrated, the industry is paying attention.

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Carbon Footprint Reduction Through RFID-Enabled Efficiency

The strongest sustainability argument for RFID centres on the efficiency gains it delivers across supply chains. Passive UHF RFID tags, particularly RAIN RFID, allow organisations to track inventory in real time without line-of-sight scanning. This translates directly into fewer wasted shipments, reduced overproduction, and optimised routing. In retail alone, RFID-driven inventory accuracy improvements from around 65% to above 95% mean fewer emergency restocking runs and less unsold merchandise heading to landfill.

In logistics, RFID-enabled visibility reduces fuel consumption by eliminating redundant transport legs. Warehouse operations that adopt RFID often report significant reductions in energy use, as automated scanning replaces labour-intensive manual counts that keep facilities running longer than necessary. Across cold chain applications, RFID temperature sensors help prevent spoilage, cutting food waste and the associated carbon emissions from producing goods that never reach consumers.

These are measurable, well-documented benefits. The cumulative effect of deploying RFID at scale across global supply chains represents a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas output, even if precise figures vary by industry and implementation.

Tag Recyclability: A Genuine Challenge

The less comfortable truth is that RFID tags themselves present a real environmental problem. A typical passive RFID inlay consists of a silicon chip bonded to an aluminium or copper antenna, mounted on a PET or polyester substrate. These materials are technically recyclable in isolation, but in practice, their composite construction makes separation difficult and economically unattractive at scale.

When RFID tags are embedded in garment labels, cardboard packaging, or product containers, they frequently contaminate existing recycling streams. Paper recyclers have flagged RFID inlays as a source of contamination that can damage processing equipment. In textile recycling, embedded tags complicate fibre recovery. The tags are small enough that manual removal is impractical, and automated separation technology remains immature.

Some manufacturers are developing more recyclable tag designs using paper-based substrates and biodegradable adhesives. Others are exploring chipless RFID approaches that eliminate the silicon component entirely. These are promising directions, but they remain niche rather than mainstream. The vast majority of the billions of RFID tags produced annually still end up in landfill or mixed waste streams.

Lifecycle Analysis: Weighing the Full Picture

A proper lifecycle analysis (LCA) of RFID deployment must account for raw material extraction, semiconductor fabrication, tag manufacturing, distribution, use phase benefits, and end-of-life disposal. The fabrication of silicon chips is energy-intensive, involving cleanroom facilities, chemical processing, and significant water consumption. These upstream costs are real and should not be dismissed.

However, most published LCA studies conclude that the operational benefits of RFID outweigh the manufacturing footprint, provided the tags are deployed in applications where they genuinely improve efficiency. A tag that prevents the unnecessary transport of tonnes of goods across a continent delivers a net carbon benefit many times greater than its own production footprint. The equation becomes less favourable for single-use tags in low-value applications where the efficiency gains are marginal.

An Honest Assessment

RFID is not inherently green, and it is not inherently wasteful. Its sustainability impact depends entirely on how and where it is deployed. The technology delivers clear environmental benefits when it reduces waste, cuts transport emissions, and extends product lifecycles through better tracking. It creates genuine environmental costs through tag production and disposal, particularly at the scale the industry now operates.

The RFID industry needs to take recyclability more seriously. Voluntary commitments to eco-friendly tag design are not enough when billions of units ship each year. Standards bodies, retailers, and tag manufacturers must collaborate on practical recycling solutions and design-for-disassembly principles. Until that happens, the sustainability story of RFID will remain incomplete, a technology that solves one environmental problem while quietly contributing to another.

The post RFID and Sustainability: Measuring the Environmental Impact first appeared on RFID News.

Among the new additions, Abby Wu of Xindeco IoT joins with a focus on global business development, while Gwen Volpe from Fresenius Kabi brings deep expertise in medication technology and healthcare partnerships. James Goodland of NXP Semiconductors steps in as a leader in RAIN RFID solutions, and Jos Kunnen of Times-7 Research brings his experience in antenna design and research. Rounding out the new electees is Tristan Finet of Decathlon, who will champion RAIN RFID’s role as a citizen data carrier from an end-user perspective.

The four incumbents continuing their service are Juho Partanen of Impinj, Le Liu of Qualcomm, Michael Fein of Zebra Technologies and Pierre Muller of EM Microelectronic. Their ongoing involvement provides continuity as the alliance pursues some of its most ambitious initiatives to date.

It is good to see such a diverse board with a genuine range of experience and backgrounds. The mix of chip designers, solution providers, healthcare specialists and major retail end users like Decathlon reflects the breadth of industries that RAIN RFID now touches. That diversity of perspective will be essential as the technology moves into new sectors and use cases.

The board operates on a staggered two-year election cycle, ensuring a balance between fresh thinking and institutional knowledge. With billions of products already using RAIN RFID technology worldwide, the alliance is focused on several major priorities for the coming period. These include driving RAIN-enabled smartphone adoption, supporting Digital Product Passport legislation in Europe, advancing healthcare standardization efforts and establishing an e-waste workgroup focused on sustainability.

The smartphone opportunity, in particular, has several board members excited. When RAIN RFID capability is built into consumer handsets, the interoperability between tagged items and everyday devices could be transformative for both businesses and consumers. Combined with growing regulatory interest in Digital Product Passports, the technology stands to become even more deeply embedded in global supply chains.

Tire tracking is another area gaining traction, highlighting how RAIN RFID continues to find new applications beyond its traditional retail and logistics strongholds. The alliance, headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts and Brussels, Belgium, is well positioned to coordinate these global efforts across its membership base.

With a board that spans continents, industries and technical disciplines, the RAIN Alliance looks well equipped to guide the next phase of UHF RFID adoption. As several of the new directors noted, the most transformative chapter for the technology may still lie ahead.

Read more at https://therainalliance.org/meet-our-leadership-the-nine-industry-leaders-of-the-rain-alliance-board-of-directors/

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What Is a Digital Product Passport?

A Digital Product Passport is a structured digital record that travels with a product throughout its lifecycle. It contains information about a product’s origin, materials, manufacturing processes, repairability, and end-of-life recycling instructions. The EU introduced the DPP framework under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), adopted in 2024, with the goal of driving circular economy practices and giving consumers transparent access to sustainability data.

The regulation targets specific product categories in phases. Batteries were first, with requirements already taking shape. Textiles and electronics follow closely, with broader rollouts expected through 2027 and beyond. By the end of the decade, most products sold within the EU market will need a DPP.

Why RFID Is the Natural Fit

While QR codes and other optical identifiers have their place, RFID offers distinct advantages that make it the preferred carrier technology for DPP data links.

UHF RFID, particularly RAIN RFID based on the ISO 18000-63 standard, enables bulk reading of tagged items without line-of-sight. A warehouse receiving hundreds of palletised goods can verify DPP compliance in seconds rather than scanning individual codes one at a time. For manufacturers dealing with high-volume production lines, this speed is not optional. It is essential.

NFC, operating at 13.56 MHz under ISO 14443 and ISO 15693, adds a consumer-facing layer. Shoppers can tap an NFC-enabled product with their smartphone to instantly access the DPP record, viewing details about where a garment was made, what chemicals were used, or how to recycle the packaging. This tap-to-read simplicity closes the gap between regulation and real-world usability.

Dual-frequency inlays combining UHF and NFC on a single tag are gaining traction for exactly this reason. They serve the supply chain’s need for speed and the consumer’s need for convenience in one integrated solution.

What Manufacturers Need to Prepare

Compliance with the DPP regulation is not a switch that flips overnight. Manufacturers should begin preparing now across several fronts.

First, data infrastructure needs attention. A DPP requires accurate, structured data about every product. Companies that lack robust product lifecycle management (PLM) systems will need to invest in capturing and organising this information.

Second, tagging strategy matters. Selecting the right RFID inlay, whether UHF, NFC, or dual-frequency, depends on the product type, packaging constraints, and where in the supply chain the tag will be read. Embedding RFID into garment labels differs significantly from tagging battery modules or electronic components.

Third, serialisation is critical. Each product needs a unique identifier linked to its DPP record. GS1 standards, including the SGTIN and GIAI schemes, provide the framework for this, and many RAIN RFID deployments already support GS1 EPC encoding natively.

A Practical Compliance Roadmap

For companies looking to get ahead of the curve, a phased approach makes sense.

In 2025 and 2026, focus on auditing existing product data and identifying gaps. Engage with your RFID tag suppliers and solution providers to evaluate tagging options. Run pilot programmes on a single product line to test data capture, tag performance, and system integration.

Through 2027, scale tagging across priority product categories. Integrate DPP data flows with existing ERP and supply chain management platforms. Ensure your serialisation processes align with GS1 standards.

From 2028 onward, expand to full product coverage as regulatory deadlines arrive for additional categories. Monitor evolving EU guidance and adjust your approach as standards mature.

The DPP regulation is not just a compliance burden. It is an opportunity to build trust with consumers, improve supply chain visibility, and future-proof operations. RFID technology, proven across billions of tagged items worldwide, provides the foundation to make it work at scale.

The post Digital Product Passports and RFID: What the EU Regulations Mean for You first appeared on RFID News.

So what is fuelling this momentum, and where does the technology go from here?

The Chip Shortage Is Finally Behind Us

Between 2021 and 2023, the global semiconductor crunch hit RFID hard. UHF tag IC demand outstripped supply by more than 50% at its peak, lead times ballooned, and prices spiked across the board. Manufacturers began stockpiling chips, which only amplified the panic.

By mid-2024, new wafer fabrication capacity from the likes of TSMC and GlobalFoundries started to ease the bottleneck. Today, supply chains have normalised, inlay prices for standard UHF tags have dropped below $0.04, and the market is shipping an estimated 55 billion passive RFID tags annually. The shortage left its mark, though. It forced the industry to diversify its supply base and gave domestic chip producers in China a significant opening they have been quick to exploit.

Retail Mandates Keep Expanding

Retail remains the single largest driver of RFID adoption, accounting for over a third of the market. Walmart’s ongoing rollout continues to pull suppliers into item-level tagging, and the scope has widened well beyond apparel. Electronics, home goods, stationery, and even perishable goods are now in play.

The payoff is tangible. Retailers deploying RFID consistently report on-shelf availability above 95%, inventory accuracy improvements of 25% or more, and meaningful reductions in shrinkage. For grocers, RFID-enabled expiry tracking is proving its worth in reducing food waste, a metric that resonates with both the bottom line and sustainability targets.

Digital Product Passports Are Changing Everything

Perhaps the most consequential development for RFID in 2026 is the EU’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) framework. Under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into force in July 2024, nearly all physical goods sold in the EU will eventually need a digital record covering material composition, carbon footprint, repairability, and end-of-life recycling instructions.

The first delegated acts are landing now. Textiles compliance rules are being published in early 2026, with iron and steel following shortly after. Batteries already have their own passport requirement arriving in February 2027. By 2030, the EU wants full coverage across all major product categories.

Each product must carry a scannable data carrier linking to its passport. QR codes will handle some of this, but for supply chain environments where line-of-sight scanning is impractical, RFID and NFC are the obvious choice. This regulation is not just a European story either. Any manufacturer selling into the EU market must comply, which means global supply chains need to get on board.

The Sustainability Push

Sustainability is no longer a side conversation in RFID circles. It is a core business driver. Beyond DPPs, brands are using RFID to track garments through circular economy programmes, verify ethical sourcing claims, and monitor waste streams. The technology’s ability to provide item-level traceability from raw material to recycling bin makes it a natural fit for ESG reporting requirements that are tightening across multiple jurisdictions.

Tag manufacturers are also cleaning up their own act. Recyclable antenna substrates, thinner inlays, and reduced use of hazardous materials in chip packaging are all gaining traction as the industry practises what it preaches.

AI and IoT Integration

RFID is no longer just about identification. Paired with AI and cloud platforms, it is becoming a real-time data engine. Machine learning algorithms are being layered on top of RFID data streams to deliver predictive inventory management, anomaly detection in supply chains, and automated replenishment triggers.

In healthcare, RFID-enabled asset tracking combined with AI is helping hospitals locate equipment in seconds, manage pharmaceutical inventories with near-zero error rates, and improve patient safety through automated medication verification.

What Comes Next

The RFID market in 2026 sits at an inflection point. Regulatory tailwinds from the EU’s DPP programme, continued retail expansion, and the integration of AI are combining to push the technology deeper into everyday commerce and industry. UHF remains the dominant frequency band, commanding over 40% of the market, but NFC is seeing renewed interest thanks to consumer-facing applications like product authentication and smart packaging.

The companies that thrive will be those that treat RFID not as a compliance checkbox but as a data platform. The tag on the product is just the starting point. The real value lies in what you do with the information it carries.

The post The State of RFID in 2026: Market Trends and What’s Next first appeared on RFID News.

Acrylic esters are a critical raw material in pressure-sensitive adhesives, the very adhesives that secure RFID inlays within smart labels used across retail, logistics, and supply chain applications. By switching to acrylates produced with renewable electricity, manufacturers of RFID inlay tags can reduce the carbon footprint of their products without any compromise on performance. BASF confirms the new acrylates are functionally equivalent to their conventional counterparts and work as drop-in replacements, meaning no retooling or reformulation is needed on the production line.

For the RFID sector, this is a meaningful step forward. As major retailers and logistics providers push for greener supply chains, the environmental credentials of every component in an RFID tag come under scrutiny. The adhesive layer that bonds a UHF RFID inlay to its substrate is no exception. With billions of RFID inlay tags produced each year for applications ranging from garment tagging to pallet tracking, even modest reductions in per-unit emissions add up quickly at scale.

Avery Dennison, one of the world’s largest producers of RFID inlays and smart labels, was the first company to commercialise these renewable energy acrylates. The move supports the company’s target of a 30% reduction in Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and aligns with broader industry efforts to decarbonise the RFID supply chain from raw materials through to finished tags.

“This accomplishment highlights the power of investing in responsible production and efficient, future-ready operations,” said Michael Limbach, Vice President at BASF’s Performance Chemicals division. Collins Oluka, Vice President of Global Procurement and Sustainability at Avery Dennison, added that innovations like renewable-energy-enabled acrylic esters help advance the company’s long-term sustainability goals.

The collaboration signals a growing trend in the RFID industry: sustainability is no longer limited to how tags are used, but extends to how they are made. As RAIN RFID adoption continues to accelerate across retail, healthcare, and logistics, the demand for greener inlay production will only increase. Partnerships like this one between BASF and Avery Dennison demonstrate that reducing emissions and maintaining product quality can go hand in hand.

Read more at https://www.averydennison.com/en/home/news/press-releases/basf-and-avery-dennison-collaborate-to-launch-acrylates-based-on-renewable-electricity.html

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The integration centres on Pragmatic’s NFC Connect PR1301 product line, a flexible IC designed specifically for NFC applications. Unlike conventional silicon-based chips, the FlexIC is ultra-thin, flexible and robust enough to be applied to curved and irregular surfaces. That makes it a natural fit for packaging formats where rigid silicon chips have traditionally struggled, from bottles and tubes to pouches and blister packs.

For brands, the technology opens up a straightforward route to secure smartphone-tap interactions on packaged goods. A consumer simply taps their phone against the product to access digital content, verify authenticity or engage with brand experiences. There is no app required and the interaction works across both iOS and Android devices, following standard NFC protocols.

The environmental angle is worth noting too. Pragmatic’s manufacturing process uses significantly fewer chemicals, less energy and less water compared to traditional silicon semiconductor fabrication. For companies under pressure to reduce supply chain environmental impact, that is a meaningful differentiator when selecting NFC components at scale.

Target applications span retail, healthcare, digital brand experiences, product authentication and Digital Product Passport (DPP) compliance. With EU regulations on DPPs approaching implementation deadlines, the ability to cost-effectively tag individual items with NFC could prove critical for brands selling into European markets. The technology also supports edge and item-level intelligence, giving supply chain operators visibility down to the individual product rather than just the case or pallet level.

Mathieu De Backer, Vice President at Avery Dennison, highlighted NFC as increasingly important digital infrastructure for consumer-facing products. Meanwhile, James Davey, Senior Vice President at Pragmatic Semiconductor, pointed to the partnership as a route to delivering deeper consumer engagement at a scale that has not previously been achievable with flexible NFC technology.

The combination of low-cost item-level tagging, flexible form factor and sustainable manufacturing positions this as a serious proposition for brands looking to move beyond barcode-only identification. Whether the driver is regulatory compliance, consumer engagement or supply chain visibility, having a flexible NFC inlay that can be produced and applied at mass scale removes one of the key barriers that has historically limited NFC adoption on fast-moving consumer goods.

Read more at https://rfid.averydennison.com/content/rfid/na/en/home/news-insights/press-releases/avery-dennison-announces-first-to-market-integration-of-pragmatic-semiconductors-chip-on-a-mass-scale.html

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