After the shakeout of the thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) industry this year, NanoMarkets LC, the leading provider of industry analysis and market and technology research services for companies competing for or interested in thin film, organic and printable electronics related markets, sees a resumption of growth occurring in 2010, creating opportunities for materials firms of all kinds. According to NanoMarkets' just-published report on TFPV materials, consumption of these materials is now expected to rise to $13.1 billion by 2017. Additional details are available at www.nanomarkets.net.
Key points:
CIGS and CdTe have always been sensitive to the atmosphere, especially when used in flexible cells. However, new kinds of encapsulation materials are now opening up the market for CIGS and CdTe in flexible BIPV applications. The biggest news here has been the announcements during 2009 of suitable polymer/ceramic dyad films from Dow Chemical, FujiFilm, DuPont and 3M. By 2017, sales of TFPV encapsulation materials are expected to reach $1.6 billion.
The TFPV industry is rapidly moving away from the use of ITO as a transparent conductor. The big beneficiaries in this move will be Zinc Oxide and Tin Oxide, whose use is expected to bring major cost savings for the industry. By 2017, almost 90 percent of the transparent conductor material used by the TFPV industry is expected to be Zinc Oxide or Tin Oxide.
Sputtering is in decline for TFPV manufacturing, primarily because of the material wastage. Printing is on the increase, but the true unsung hero of TFPV manufacturing is electrodeposition which is rapidly growing and proving itself worthy of widespread use. By 2017, TFPV absorber materials that are either printed or electrodeposited will amount to almost $300 million.
About the report:
NanoMarkets' new report, "Materials Markets for Thin-Film Photovoltaics: 2010 to 2017" provides a complete analysis of the commercial opportunities for materials used in thin-film PV. The coverage comprises the absorber layer, electrode, substrate, encapsulation, and other materials used for CIGS, CdTe, and thin-film silicon PV. The report includes detailed eight-year forecasts of thin-film materials broken out by applications and chemistry, as well as reviews of the latest research and the corporate strategies of firms active in the sector.
This report discusses the activities of dozens of firms including 3M, 5N Plus, ACI Alloys, Air Liquide, All-Chemie, American Elements, BOC, Cambrios, Cerac, Cima Nanotech, Corning, Creative Materials, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, DuPont, Evonik, First Solar, FujiFilm, Global Solar, Indium Corporation, Linde, Mitsubishi, Nanoco, NSG, Praxair, REC, Redlen Technologies, Saint-Gobain, Sanyo, Schott, Sputtering Materials, Super Conductor Materials, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Tianwei Baoding, Tico Titanium, ULVAC, Umicore, Vitex, and Voltaix.