Description

In a recent report titled, Thin‐Film, Organic and Printable Photovoltaics Markets: 2007‐2015, NanoMarkets predicts that the reduced cost of using simple printing and roll‐to‐roll manufacturing processes, the addition of new capacity, as well as technological improvements leading to increased efficiency, will position thin-film PV as a major player in the PV market. As a result, the NanoMarkets report indicates that thin-film photovoltaic (TF PV) solar cells will become a mainstream technology in markets currently served by traditional PV panels made from crystalline silicon.

The report predicts that the $1 billion TF PV market of 2007 will grow to $1.6 billion in 2008 before climbing to almost $3.4 billion in 2010 and $7.2 billion in 2015. The TF PV share of the overall PV market was less than 5 percent in 2005, but is expected to grow to about 50 percent by 2015. TF PV will penetrate the PV markets by offering a more cost‐competitive solution than traditional PV for many applications, as as by opening up new applications though TF PV's unique properties, which include low weight, flexibility, and ability to be embedded into other materials.

The most crippling limitation on conventional PV today is the high cost of producing the cells. Conventional PV panels are are made using crystalline silicon via an expensive, step-and-repeat batch process. Thin-film technology could address this and other limitations of TF PV and open up new applications for solar energy. Even so, the road ahead for TF PV is not all sunshine; NanoMarkets indicates the technology will face challenges. For example, the recent shortage of crystalline silicon, which initiated much of the excitement about alternative materials, is starting to subside, eliminating one of the drivers of growing demand for TF PV.