Amorphous silicon (a-Si), a thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) material that has been around since the late 1970s, will continue to lead the TFPV space for several years to come, according to a recent report from industry analysis firm NanoMarkets. The firm projects that $1.3 billion in revenues for a-Si photovoltaics this year will grow to $4.1 billion in 2014.
The report, titled ‘Materials Markets for Thin-Film Silicon Photovoltaics,’ is the next in a series from NanoMarkets that addresses emerging solar energy markets.
Amorphous silicon combines the advantages associated with all thin-film technologies, notably reduced bulk and weight, flexibility and the potential for lower-cost manufacturing, with benefits typically associated with a mature technology, such as established processes and equipment. Although NanoMarkets projects a relative decline against other forms of TFPV, the decrease is expected to happen quite slowly.
Today, a-Si represents about 54% of all TFPV shipped by value, NanoMarkets says. By 2011, this number will have only slipped to 47%. In addition, a-Si is the most likely technological route that will be taken by new entrants into the TFPV business, because manufacturing equipment and materials are readily available.
For more findings from the report, visit www.nanomarkets.net.
SOURCE: NanoMarkets
