Photovoltaics

The energy crisis, combined with the ever-pressing need to transition to net zero, is driving innovations within the energy landscape. Technology choices, material choices, and business models are shifting and evolving to meet global energy and consumer demands. IDTechEx offer a market intelligence platform covering technology innovation in the energy sector, aiming to help clients address needs and find opportunities in the complex energy landscape .

Thin film photovoltaics (PV) have historically played second fiddle, dwarfed by the multi-billion US dollar silicon PV industry. This may be about to change. Emerging PV applications, such as indoor energy harvesting and building integrated PV, have specific requirements that will enable thin film silicon alternatives to flourish.

Photovoltaics is the fastest-growing energy source. Of the thin film PV technologies, cadmium telluride (CdTe) dominates. It is largely concentrated within the US, where it accounts for 40 % of US utility-scale PV power. In recent years, the commercial efficiency of CdTe panels has been playing a catch-up game with conventional silicon and is currently trailing by ~3 %. Efficiency, however, is not the only deciding factor.

Organic photovoltaics were once considered the next generation of photovoltaic technology. They had huge hype because they had a seductive value proposition: R2R printing of high-performance, robust and flexible solar cells over large areas using low-cost materials and low CapEx high-throughput equipment. progress