NanoMarkets, a leading
industry analyst that tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy
and electronics markets, today announced the release of "Silver Markets
for Photovoltaics." This report is one of a series of "Metals in PV"
reports examining opportunities for various metals in the photovoltaics industry.
This report contains an analysis and market projections of silver inks, pastes
and other related materials based on NanoMarkets' ongoing research on materials
used in photovoltaics (PV). Further details about the report are available at
www.nanomarkets.net.
Key Findings:
PV is the fastest growing application for silver; NanoMarkets' research suggests
that the volume of silver used for photovoltaics will reach over 24 million
troy ounces in 2016.
The market dynamics of the silver and PV market are changing. As thin-film and
organic PV begin to take a larger share of the overall PV market the use of
silver will shift from that of a simple coating used to fabricate the top electrodes
in crystalline silicon PV to that of a key determinant in boosting efficiencies
and materials performance. NanoMarkets believes that thin-film PV and organic
PV both will account for 27 percent of silver used by PV in 2016.
NanoMarkets also believes that silver reflective coatings could prove of immense
importance in getting organic PV (OPV) to performance levels that would make
its satisfactory for its biggest area of opportunity; building integrated photovoltaics
(BIPV).
While PV silver will continue to be dominated by simple silver pastes, the need
for higher performance will create demand for pastes manufactured from nanomaterials
which have higher degrees of conductivity than regular pastes.
Another new opportunity can be found in transparent composite materials in which
indium tin oxide (ITO) or conductive polymers are mixed with silver to create
new materials for high performance top electrodes. These composites are being
tried out first in OPV, but NanoMarkets believes that they will have applications
throughout the industry.
NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy and
electronics markets. The firm has published numerous reports related to new
developments in power sources, electronic device and fabrication techniques
and electronics materials. NanoMarkets' research database is the industry's
most extensive source of information on thin film, organic and printable (TOP)
electronics. Visit www.nanomarkets.net for a full listing of NanoMarkets' reports
and other services.