A new NanoMarkets report covering the manufacturing of thin film and organic photovoltaics, projects that sales of equipment in this sector will reach annual revenues of $4.8 billion in 2015, compared to $450 million being projected for 2008.
The market research firm said that equipment sales would reach over $1 billion in 2009, more than double this year. NanoMarkets projects that the market for TFPV/OPV equipment will flatten in 2010, due to crystalline silicon cell makers able to secure sufficient polysilicon supplies to obtain high utilization rates in existing manufacturing facilities, enabling a greater level of competition with thin film alternatives.
NanoMarkets is also projecting that the market for printing equipment used in the manufacture of TFPV cells will grow from around $40 million in 2008 to over $750 million in 2015.
Inline with other projections, NanoMarkets believes that current thin film leader, First Solar should continue to be a major player and dominate the cadmium telluride (CdTe) sector. However, the market share race for CIGS and OPV sectors has barely started. By 2015 these two sectors combined will account for 19 percent and 10 of aggregate MW capacity.
NOTE: Updated charts from NanoMarkets with forecast figures through 2015.