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Jiva is a newer company that bridges the divide between PCB fabrication and product circularity or sustainability. Jiva Soluboard is the first fully recyclable laminate material ever created for PCB fabrication, and it's not going unnoticed. Stephen Driver, CEO of Jiva, gave us an update at APEX EXPO, including an exciting certification achievement in February.
Marcy LaRont: Steve, we last chatted at productronica, but I have been following Jiva and Soluboard for about two years now. How did Jiva come about?
Steve Driver: The original story started with Jack Herring, who invented the product as part of a dissertation project. When he and I met, he had a proof-of-concept and asked me to help him commercialize the product. In 2021, we took it to a minimum viable product with a single-sided mouse for Microsoft, and they validated its functionality, motivating us to continue. We’ve evolved the product since then. In 2022–23, we developed a plated through-hole version of the material, and more recently, we have been focused on obtaining UL certification for it. We are now in the validation and certification phase and working toward a successful multilayer build. We achieved UL94 V-1 last year. We are very active in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, where these applications require UL V-O, and I am pleased to announce that we achieved this in February. That's a big milestone for us and potentially a game-changer.
LaRont: Congratulations! What other products are you currently working on?
Driver: I can’t say too much because of our non-disclosure agreements, but we are working on some computer peripheral products with several OEMs. We were part of the Amazon accelerator, for example, which was great for us. They want to stay engaged with us, and, of course, several big companies are interested in our progress toward multilayer capability and certification. We are working on a four-layer design that we hope to start on in late Q2 or Q3. OEMs in the LED markets in the UK and greater Asia are also interested in what we have to offer. We also have some industrial applications specifically related to materials handling, and this year we will go to scale. It’s all very exciting for us.
To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of I-Connect007 Magazine, click here.
