Flexible Growth
The global flexible and thin-film photovoltaic (PV) market, despite caution in the overall PV industry, is expected to experience a CAGR of over 35% to 2019, surpassing 32GW according to a major new study by IntertechPira.
The Future of Flexible and Thin-Film Photovoltaics provides detailed ten-year volume and value forecasts of the flexible and thin-film PV market by cell type, end-use application and geographic region. It also addresses thin-film production capacity, competition among the candidate technologies as well as financial incentives, such as subsidies, feed-in tariffs and purchase power agreements and their effect on the development of this emerging sector of the PV industry.
The study predicts that although organic-based PV, with its small base, will likely grow the fastest of the candidate technologies, amorphous silicon is forecast to remain the technology of choice, increasing from approximately 50 to 70% of the market over the next 10 years.
The Future of Flexible and Thin-Film Photovoltaics is based on interviews with executives in a cross-section of companies that supply raw materials, chemicals, cells and modules as well as original equipment manufacturers and system integration services providers. The study is also based on extensive analyses of published literature and in-house data built up from years of gathering information developed from conducting market research and technology studies as well as executive-level conferences for the PV and plastic electronics industries.
According to the study, the strongest growth for thin film and flexible PV I will be in Europe and the US in the short to medium term. Japan, China and other countries in Asia will catch up strongly in the medium term. In the long term, sales will probably increase in developing nations such as Africa as organic flexible products start to become fully viable. In Europe, Germany will remain a strong market and be the most important market for thin film in the short term.
This new study provides volume and value forecasts to 2019 for emerging flexible and thin-film PV technologies, such as amorphous silicon, CdTe (cadmium telluride), and CIS/CIGS (copper indium diselenide/copper indium gallium diselenide). It also provides forecasts for thin-film PV in end-use applications, such as ground- and roof-mounted, building-integrated (BIPV), consumer electronics, and military.
A key focus of the study is the market outlook for raw materials and chemicals used in flexible and thin-film PV production. It provides market volume and value forecasts by technology and identifies key opportunities for suppliers. According to the study, a wide range of chemicals manufacturers of various types of materials should be interested in what is going on in thin film PV, which increasingly represents a volume opportunity for the materials they have to offer.
