12.11.09
Market for Conductive Silver Inks Set to Grow
New NanoMarkets reports states that market for conductive silver inks will expand rapidly in the next eight years.
According to a new report from NanoMarkets, an industry analyst firm based in Glen Allen, VA, the market for silver conductive inks will almost triple over the next eight years to reach $2.4 billion by 2015.
The report is a follow up to a widely regarded and first of its kind analysis of the conductive silver inks business released in 2007.
Key findings from the report:
•While demand for silver inks from traditional applications such as membrane switches and PCBs will remain stable, a new group of applications is emerging that will bring new business revenues to silver ink makers. The biggest opportunity will be found in the RFID space, where revenues from silver inks for RFID antennas alone will exceed $880 million by 2015.
Based on the current excitement surrounding alternative energy, NanoMarkets expects the use of silver inks for solar panel contacts to grow to almost $250 million by 2015.
•As applications for printable electronics begin to reach full-scale production, flexo and gravure printing will become increasingly popular and require special inks tailored to the needs of these kinds of printing machine. The market for silver flexo and gravureinks is no more than a niche now. By 2015 it will have reached more than $530 million
•Nano silver and the ability to be cured at low temperatures are key. The latter will be especially important given the growing role of thermally sensitive flexible substrates.
NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in electronics created by developments in advanced materials. The firm has established numerous reports related to organic, thin film and printable electronics materials and applications.
For additional information onthis report, contact NanoMarkets, Robert Nolan, (804) 270-7010; through e-mail at: inof@nanomarkets.net; web:www.nanomarkets.net.
The Future of Organic Photovoltaics
According to research from Dr. Harry Zervos of IDTechEx, organic solar cell efficiencies have been slowly creeping up, with tandem cells (two multilayered parts that work together to gather a wider range of the spectrum of solar radiationat both shorter and longer wavelengths) created by Alan Heeger’s research group that can reach efficiencies of 6.5 percent.
Other companies, such as Plextronics, are also achieving higher efficiencies; Plexcore PV, one of the company’s organic ink systems enables production of solar cells with an efficiency of 5 percent.
Organic photovoltaics (and organic electronics in general) are receiving a lot of attention in many of the world’s research institutes. Arizona State University, MIT, Cambridge University, Tokyo University and University of California, to name a few, are pioneering ground-breaking work in the field that lead to much quicker advances and achievements.
The combination of such technological breakthroughs that render organic solar cells more efficient, together with the ability to use printing techniques for their fabrication, which ensure low cost manufacturing, is promising a bright future for organic photovoltaic technologies, according to Dr. Zervos.
IDTechEx is predicting that inorganic photovoltaics will remain dominant in their market share for a while, but once organic photovoltaics are commercially manufactured, they are going to “demand” their rightful place, and their rightful share, of the market, and that share is going to be a big one.
For more information on current advances in organic photovoltaic technologies go to www.IDTechEx.com.