Flexible Glass Markets, 2013 and Beyond

• Publication date: November 2012

SUMMARY This report from NanoMarkets quantifies the market opportunities for flexible glass over the next eight years. In the report, we examine the latest technologies, strategies, and technical developments of the flexible glass industry and identify the key applications in which flexible glass will generate revenue for the glass industry in the near- and mid-term.  The report provides granular, eight-year volume (in area) and re...

SUMMARY

This report from NanoMarkets quantifies the market opportunities for flexible glass over the next eight years. In the report, we examine the latest technologies, strategies, and technical developments of the flexible glass industry and identify the key applications in which flexible glass will generate revenue for the glass industry in the near- and mid-term.  The report provides granular, eight-year volume (in area) and revenue  ($ US millions) forecasts for this business.
“Flexible glass” is ultrathin glass that can—as the result of its thinness—be stored and used in roll form. The selling point of flexible glass is that, like plastic-based films, it can, at least in theory, provide a lighter weight, lower cost alternative to rigid glass, yet deliver the superior barrier performance, transparency, temperature stability, and familiarity of glass.
The opportunities for flexible glass include the following:
• Flexible glass has a role to play in reducing costs and improving marketability through enabling the production lighter weight products. Enabling lighter weight products is particularly important in mobile computing applications like smart phones and tablets, but it is also of critical importance in many photovoltaics (PV) applications, particularly building-integrated PV.
• Flexible glass is emerging as a leading candidate for encapsulation of sensitive electronics, particularly in OLED displays, OLED lighting, and organic and dye-sensitized cell PV applications. Flexible glass can enable encapsulation with higher performance, and potentially easier to implement, than some advanced multilayer barrier systems proposed for use in PV and displays.
• In addition, flexible glass will enable future roll-to-roll (R2R) production of flexible displays, OLED lighting, flexible PV, and other flexible electronics.  In this report, suppliers of flexible glass will find guidance for how – and when – this material will fit into the R2R electronics space.
Applications for flexible glass covered by this report include:  displays, PV, OLED lighting, and various flexible electronics products (sensors, chips, etc.). NanoMarkets has provided coverage of flexible glass for several years as part of a larger focus on advanced materials for the display, lighting, and solar panel markets.

Glass Manufacturing Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
E.1 Market Opportunities for Flexible Glass
E.1.1 Lowering the Weight of Displays and Photovoltaics
E.1.2 The Promise of Flexibility and R2R Processing
E.1.3 Encapsulation as a Key Market for Flexible Glass
E.1.4 Other Applications
E.2 Key Firms to Watch in the Flexible Glass Industry
E.3 Challenges to Commercialization of Flexible Glass
E.3.1 Bringing Costs Down
E.3.2 Competitive Materials
E.4 Summary of the Eight-Year Forecasts for Flexible Glass

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to this Report
1.1.1 The Value Proposition of Flexible Glass – Weight, Flexibility, and R2R Capability
1.1.2 Prospects in the Display Industry
1.1.3 Prospects for Flexible Glass in Photovoltaics
1.1.4 Other Markets for Flexible Glass
1.2 Objectives and Scope of this Report
1.3 Methodology of this Report
1.4 Plan of this Report

CHAPTER TWO: FLEXIBLE GLASS: TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS, AND KEY SUPPLIERS
2.1 Manufacturing Trends and Challenges
2.1.1 Characteristics of Flexible Glass
2.1.2 Lightweight Devices
2.1.3 Durability of Flexible Glass
2.1.4 Flexibility and R2R Compatibility
2.2 Competition for Flexible Glass
2.2.1 Plastics
2.2.2 Metal Foils and Sheets
2.2.3 Other Competitive Products
2.3 Key Suppliers of Flexible Glass
2.3.1 AGC/Asahi Glass
2.3.2 Corning
2.3.3 LiSEC
2.3.4 Nippon Electric Glass
2.3.5 Schott
2.3.6 Academic and Research Institutions with Flexible Glass Programs
2.4 Key Points from this Chapter

CHAPTER THREE: APPLICATIONS AND MARKETS FOR FLEXIBLE GLASS
3.1 Flexible Glass in Display Products
3.1.1 Mobile Computing Displays – Delivering Lighter Weight
3.1.2 Touch Panels and Flexible Glass
3.1.3 Rollable and Foldable Displays
3.1.4 Encapsulation of OLEDs with Flexible Glass
3.1.5 Prospects for Flexible Glass in E-Paper Devices
3.2 Prospects for Flexible Glass in OLED Lighting
3.2.1 Enabling Longer Lifetimes in OLED Lighting
3.2.2 Enabling Design Flexibility
3.3 Flexible Glass in Photovoltaics
3.3.1 Glass in the Conventional PV Industry – No Room For Flexible Glass?
3.3.2 The Pros and Cons of Flexible Glass in PV Applications
3.3.3 Flexible PV – The Importance of CIGS and BIPV to the Future of PV
3.3.4 Newer PV Technologies with Strict Barrier Requirements – OPV and DSC PV
3.5 Other Markets and Applications Concepts for Flexible Glass
3.5.1 Sensors
3.5.2 Flexible Batteries
3.5.2 Other Applications
3.6 Key Points from this Chapter

CHAPTER FOUR: EIGHT-YEAR FORECASTS FOR FLEXIBLE GLASS
4.1 Forecasting Methodology
4.1.1 General Methodology
4.1.2 Scope of Forecast
4.1.3 Data Sources
4.1.4 Assumptions
4.1.5 Alternative Scenarios
4.2 Eight-Year Forecast by Application/End-User Market
4.2.1 Display Markets
4.2.2 OLED Lighting
4.2.3 Photovoltaics Markets
4.2.4 Other Markets for Flexible Glass
4.3 Summary of Eight-Year Forecasts for Flexible Glass by Application
4.4 Breakout of Flexible Glass Forecasts by Device Type – Rigid vs. Flexible
Abbreviations and Acronyms Used in this Report
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