The high sensitivity to air and water vapor of thin-film PV (TFPV) is a factor
that increasingly retards the market for this technology. TFPV got its big chance
during the silicon shortage era, during which conventional crystalline silicon
was held back by lack of availability of its main raw material.
Now that the silicon shortage is over, there is a burden on the manufacturers
of the newer forms of PV to find new ways to compete with c-Si modules. Newer
forms of PV are often touted for their flexibility, but the fact is that today
they consist overwhelmingly of fully glass-encapsulated modules. Rigid substrates
also prevent new types of PV achieving cost advantages to the extent that they
are barred from adopting R2R manufacturing processes. The apparently natural
fit of TFPV for mobile PV and building integrated PV (BIPV) will also only be
realized if more flexibility and higher performance encapsulation becomes possible
Nonetheless, flexible PV options have been slow to develop, in many cases
primarily because flexible encapsulation options are considered cost prohibitive
or technically inferior. As a result there seems to be opportunities for materials
firms to come up with improved encapsulation and substrate options; ones that
enable TFPV to better meet its promise.
This NanoMarkets
report provides our analysis of the market for encapsulation and substrate materials,
including a detailed eight-year forecast of the revenue opportunities that these
materials present. NanoMarkets
believe that Encapsulation
and Flexible Substrates for Thin-Film Photovoltaics report will be essential
reading for chemical, glass, polymer, and thin-film ceramic manufacturers as
well as those seeking to ensure that they address photovoltaics encapsulation
issues effectively.