Feasibility study of PV-powered smart cards for improved security

Lightricity is seeking to apply its unique highly efficient indoor photovoltaic (PV) technology to powering security features on the next generation of smart cards. There is a current focus in the powered smart card industry on introducing biometric cards which include fingerprint sensors. These contactless cards are typically powered by harvesting RF energy from the card reader device when in very close proximity for a few seconds. This helps to address secure transaction at point of sale thus reducing fraudulent usage. However, in most major markets more than 75% of fraudulent transactions are of the 'card-not-present' variety e.g. internet and telephone purchases, so a card reader is not available to power the card and its security features.

Lightricity will investigate the compatibility of its technology with the demanding standardised specifications of smart cards, the smart card use-case scenarios and the challenges of the established manufacturing processes. The project will also evaluate the practical benefits PV energy harvesting can bring for both the issuer and the customer. It is believed that there is significant potential to power both fingerprint sensors and miniature dynamically updatable displays for CVV numbers thus bringing the enhanced security features to the main fraud challenges too. Where battery solutions have proven unacceptable and other PV solutions insufficiently efficient or compatible with card manufacturing it is believed that Lightricity's PV technology has strong potential. It has already been demonstrated to be up to 6x more efficient indoors than other more commonly used PV technologies enabling more power-hungry applications with much smaller PV modules of the order of a few mm2\. It is also very thin with potential for further reduction and is able to withstand high temperatures typical of hot lamination manufacturing processes.

The powered smart card industry is highly concentrated and organised in a series of partnerships. Development and adoption of new technical innovations is concentrated in a relatively small number of these companies. In order to understand, in detail, the specific technical and commercial challenges and potential solutions and to gain acceptance as a development partner Lightricity will, through this project, engage with the key European R&D Centres that are leading next generation smart card developments. These are predominantly found in France and Germany.