Sep 15 2008
Manufacturing capacity for thin-film and organic photovoltaics is expected to grow from approximately 2 GWp (Gigawatts at peak sunlight) this year to 29 GWp by 2015 according to a new report from NanoMarkets, an industry analyst firm based here. At the same time, the value of manufacturing equipment purchased by thin-film PV (TFPV) and organic PV (OPV) firms will grow from $450 million in 2008 to $4.8 billion in 2015. These and other findings are from NanoMarkets' new report, "The Future of Thin Film and Organic Photovoltaics Manufacturing." Details about the report can be found at http://www.nanomarkets.net.
The report is the next in a series from NanoMarkets that address the emerging thin-film and organic photovoltaics markets. Previous reports in 2008 addressed thin-film and organic photovoltaic materials markets, modules markets and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) markets.
Findings include:
- While First Solar will be hard to pass in the cadmium telluride (CdTe) sector, the race for dominance in the CIGS and OPV sectors has just begun. By 2015 these two sectors combined will account for 19 percent and 10 of aggregate capacity.
- Annual manufacturing equipment purchases by TFPV/OPV firms will reach over $1 billion in 2009, more than double this year. NanoMarkets projects that the market for TFPV/OPV equipment will flatten in 2010 as solar cell makers fully utilize the capacity they have rapidly put in place since 2007 but resume growth and reach $4.8 billion in 2015.
- Printing promises to reduce manufacturing costs, although it also faces challenges when it comes to producing the highest efficiency cells. Nonetheless, the market for printing equipment used in the manufacture of TFPV cells will grow from around $40 million in 2008 to over $750 million in 2015.
About the report:
NanoMarkets' report, "The Future of Thin Film and Organic Photovoltaics Manufacturing" analyzes the underlying performance of the TFPV and OPV plants built to date, identifies the major challenges to TFPV/manufacturing and where the solutions to these challenges will be coming from. The report also forecasts the capacity of TFPV and OPV plants that are currently being built throughout the world or likely to be built in the near future. Finally, it includes projections of the expenditures of TFPV firms on production equipment over an eight year period. Some of the strategically important questions answered by this report include: How important will printing be in the TFPV sector? Will TFPV/OPV firms continue to build their own equipment to the same extent as at present? And what types of plant and equipment will best serve the needs of new thin-film PV materials? This report analyzes the state of the art in fabrication of both the manufacture of the photoactive layers themselves and the metallization process. In addition to the analysis itself, this report includes profiles of the manufacturing operations of 15 major firms actively involved in the production of solar products in the TFPV and OPV sector.