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Thin Film Photovoltaics 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Analysis

CdTe, CIGS, a-Si, organic PV and DSSCs: opportunities and challenges

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This report focuses on the developments in thin film solar cells and batteries and how these technologies are evolving. By relating to the reader information on market conditions, competing technologies and how different economic factors affect addressable markets, the report explains growth trends and forecasts thin film technology penetration in the next decade.
 
CdTe, CIGS, a-Si, organic PV and DSSCs are all covered in the report along with varying chemistries for thin film batteries and appendices on the topics of manufacturing techniques and organic solar cell material and chemistry considerations.
 
Percentage flexible, percentage printed for CIGS*
 
*For the full forecast data please purchase this report
 
Source: IDTechEx
The PV market has been rising rapidly in the past few years. A combination of government subsidies leading to high demand and falling prices due to competitive pressures from Asian markets has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the installed PV capacity worldwide, reaching 22 GW in 2011.
 
Today there is a range of different thin film PV and battery technologies each with a different set of characteristics. This development opens up new markets to PV and batteries which have not been addressable using traditional technologies. At the same time it suggests that manufacturers can count on competitive advantage and innovation in order to achieve further penetration of new technologies.
 
Market size for thin film batteries % of the market that is printed and flexible*
 
*For the full forecast data please purchase this report
 
Source: IDTechEx
 
The sharp drop in the price of silicon solar cells has led to uncertainty in the growth of thin film solar cells that feel heavy economic pressures. At the same time thin batteries compete with the large volumes and low costs of coin cell batteries. Optimized performance, efforts to bring down costs and unique selling points are necessary in order to survive in the increasingly competitive climate in these sectors.
 
This report provides a comprehensive overview of thin film photovoltaics and batteries technologies. Compiled and analysed by Dr Harry Zervos, technology analyst with IDTechEx, market analysis, company profiles and 10 year forecasts are given for each of the technologies covered. An analysis of the basic scientific principles, materials and manufacturing is also included, with a focus on the potential for printing technologies to become a disruptive technology in these vibrant sectors.
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1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1.Thin film technologies Market Share and Module Costs
1.1.World market for Photovoltaics in 2008
1.1.Photovoltaics beyond crystalline silicon
1.2.2008-2011 recap- Forecasts to 2022
1.2.Number of organisations developing printed and potentially printed electronics worldwide
1.2.Types of printed/thin film photovoltaics beyond crystalline silicon compared, with examples of suppliers
1.3.Market size for thin film photovoltaic technologies beyond silicon technologies % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
1.3.Photovoltaics - the Macroeconomic View
1.4.Potential division of technologies in the thin film sector - flexible 2012-2022
1.5.Potential division of technologies in the thin film sector - printed 2012-2022
1.6.Market size for thin film batteries % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
2.INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE
2.1.Market size for thin film photovoltaic technologies beyond silicon technologies % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
2.1.Market size for CIGS and percentage flexible, percentage printed
2.1.Thin Film Photovoltaic Forecasts
2.2.Battery Forecasts
2.2.Market size for a-Si and percentage flexible, percentage printed
2.2.Market size for thin film batteries % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
3.BATTERIES
3.1.Important milestones in battery history
3.1.Internal structure of Power Paper Battery
3.1.Introduction
3.2.History
3.2.Diagram of the operation of a battery
3.2.Printed battery product and specification comparison
3.3.Printed battery materials comparison.
3.3.Discharge characteristics of a Power Paper STD-3 printed battery
3.3.Structure
3.4.Key Products in Printed Batteries Industry
3.4.Canvas magazine, February 2011 electronic cover
3.4.The half cell and overall chemical reactions that occur in a Zn/MnO2 battery
3.5.Discharge rate, current, and load.
3.5.The Cymbet EnerChip™
3.5.Principles and Operation
3.6.Supercapacitors supplement or rival batteries?
3.6.Enfucell SoftBattery™
3.6.Parameter ranking for different battery chemistries
3.7.Battery characteristics
3.7.Thin-film solid-state batteries by Excellatron
3.7.Thin Film Batteries - key companies
3.7.1.Blue Spark Technologies Inc.
3.7.2.Cymbet Corporation
3.7.3.Enfucell
3.7.4.Excellatron
3.7.5.Infinite Power Solutions (IPS)
3.7.6.Kunshan Printed Electronics Ltd
3.7.7.Nanotecture
3.7.8.Power Paper
3.7.9.Solicore
3.8.THINERGY MEC200 series micro-energy cells
3.9.Flexion ™
4.PHOTOVOLTAICS
4.1.Comparison of the power conversion technologies of different types of solar cell technologies
4.1.Average potential electricity production with photovoltaics
4.1.Introduction
4.2.History
4.2.Worldwide PV Shipments 1988-2004
4.2.Important milestones in the development of photovoltaic cells
4.3.Installations for the years between 2004-2008
4.4.Progress of confirmed research-scale photovoltaic device efficiencies, under AM 1.5 simulated solar illumination, for a variety of technologies
4.5.Progress in power conversion efficiency for a-Si, polymer, and small molecule photovoltaic cells
4.6.Comparison of the efficiency (in arbitrary units, since no spectral mismatch correction was performed) of "printed like" (doctor bladed) vs. spin-coated organic solar cells
5.COMPANY PROFILES BY TECHNOLOGY
5.1.Typical a-Si p-i-n design
5.1.Principles and operations
5.2.Amorphous/nanoparticle Si
5.2.a-Si hydrogenation
5.2.1.Introduction-Brief Description of technology
5.3.Amorphous /nanoparticle Si - Key Companies
5.3.Flexcell a-Si portable solar charger
5.3.1.Flexcell
5.3.2.Fuji Electric Systems Co., Ltd.
5.3.3.Innovalight
5.3.4.Kaneka
5.3.5.Mitsubishi Heavy industries
5.3.6.Sharp
5.3.7.SONTOR GmbH
5.3.8.United Solar Ovonic
5.4.CdTe
5.4.FES F-WAVE
5.4.1.Introduction-Brief Description of technology
5.5.CdTe Key Companies
5.5.Innovalight Cell
5.5.1.Abound Solar
5.5.2.Calyxo
5.5.3.First Solar
5.5.4.PrimeStar Solar (now part of GE)
5.6.CIGS - CIS
5.6.Kaneka semi-translucent PV module
5.6.1.Introduction - Brief Description of technology
5.7.CIGS - Key Companies
5.7.United Solar Ovonics thin film amorphous silicon cell configuration
5.7.1.Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.
5.7.2.Avancis
5.7.3.Bosch Solar CISTech (previously Johanna Solar)
5.7.4.DayStar Technologies
5.7.5.Global Solar Energy
5.7.6.HelioVolt
5.7.7.Honda Soltec Co., Ltd.
5.7.8.IBM
5.7.9.Miasolé
5.7.10.Nanosolar
5.7.11.Odersun
5.7.12.Solar Frontier (previously Showa Shell Sekiyu)
5.7.13.Solibro
5.7.14.Solyndra
5.7.15.Soltecture (previously Sulfurcell)
5.7.16.Würth Solar
5.8.DSSC
5.8.CdTe thin film solar cell
5.8.1.Introduction-Brief Description of technology
5.9.DSSC - Key Companies
5.9.Schematic representation of a CIGS thin film solar cell
5.9.1.Dyesol
5.9.2.G24 Innovations
5.10.Organic Photovoltaics
5.10.Ascent Solar's Flexible Products
5.10.1.Introduction - Brief Description of technology
5.11.Organic Photovoltaics - Key Companies
5.11.Honda Soltec's manufacturing facility
5.11.1.Heliatek
5.11.2.Konarka
5.11.3.New Energy technologies
5.11.4.Solarmer
5.12.Research Institutes/Universities involved with thin film photovoltaic technologies
5.12.Parts of Nanosolar's module manufacturing process
5.12.1.AIST - National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
5.12.2.Arizona State University
5.12.3.Colorado State University
5.12.4.École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
5.12.5.Florida Solar Energy Centre
5.12.6.Fraunhofer ISE
5.12.7.Helsinki University of technology (TKK)
5.12.8.IMEC
5.12.9.Imperial College London
5.12.10.Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
5.12.11.KAIST - Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
5.12.12.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
5.12.13.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
5.12.14.National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
5.12.15.University of Delaware - Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC)
5.13.The POGO designer bag produced by Berlin manufacturer Bagjack
5.14.CIS in nature and in a solar module: Chalcopyrite mineral and electron-microscopic image of a thin film
5.15.Building integrated modules from Soltecture, integrated in the company's HQ building in Berlin Adlershof
5.16.Würth Solar's production plant, CISfab in Schwäbisch Hall
5.17.Dyesol's Dye Solar Cells interconnected and integrated into modules (tiles).
5.18.Konarka's Power Plastic®
5.19.The Tsukuba Center Solar Power Plant
5.20.Transparent dye solar module manufactured at Fraunhofer ISE with a screen printing procedure using glass frit technology.
5.21.Schematic layer structure of a pentacene-C60 tandem organic solar cell
6.APPLICATIONS
6.1.Applications of printed batteries by vendor
6.1.Patents containing the terms RFID and Battery
6.1.Applications of printed batteries
6.2.Batteries
6.2.Active RFID patents
6.2.Technical differences between Active and Passive RFID technologies
6.2.1.Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
6.2.2.Smart Cards
6.2.3.Iontophoretic Devices
6.2.4.Other Devices
6.3.Summary of functional capabilities of Active and Passive RFID technologies
6.3.Schematic diagram of PowerCosmetics Micro-electronic patch
6.3.Photovoltaics
6.3.1.Building integrated solar electric power
6.3.2.Solar Chargers
6.3.3.Military applications
6.3.4.Other applications
6.4.Some of the manufacturers that provide printed batteries for smart card applications
6.4.Estee Lauder Perfectionist Power Correcting Patch
6.5.Anti-wrinkle demonstration
6.6.Audio paper capable of recording and playing back audio
6.7.Hasbro Thin-Tronix™ Poster Phone and Poster Radio
6.8.PowerFilm AA Charger
6.9.Two wire photovoltaic fiber concept
7.FUTURE TRENDS AND FORECASTS FOR PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES
7.1.Market size for thin film photovoltaic technologies beyond silicon technologies % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
7.1.Market size for CIGS and percentage flexible, percentage printed
7.2.Market size for a-Si and percentage flexible, percentage printed
7.2.Market size for thin film batteries % of the market that is printed and flexible 2012-2022
APPENDIX 1: PRINCIPLES AND OPERATION OF DSSCS AND ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS
APPENDIX 2: MATERIALS
APPENDIX 3: PRINTING/PATTERNING TECHNIQUES
APPENDIX 4: IDTECHEX PUBLICATIONS AND CONSULTANCY
TABLES
FIGURES
 

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Thin film photovoltaic technologies will become a $20 Billion market by 2022

Report Statistics

Pages 234
Tables 23
Figures 51
Forecasts to 2022
 

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