Substrates and Encapsulation for BIPV

• Publication date: May 2012
• Report size: 90 pages

Summary This report identifies the opportunities for encapsulation and substrate materials and systems in the emerging building-integrated PV (BIPV) market.  NanoMarkets believes that the BIPV sector will be the fastest growing part of the solar industry in the next decade, but that demand patterns for encapsulation and substrate materials from this sector will be different from the traditional PV industry. Even though glass wil...

Summary

This report identifies the opportunities for encapsulation and substrate materials and systems in the emerging building-integrated PV (BIPV) market.  NanoMarkets believes that the BIPV sector will be the fastest growing part of the solar industry in the next decade, but that demand patterns for encapsulation and substrate materials from this sector will be different from the traditional PV industry.
Even though glass will be the most widely used material for both encapsulation and substrates in the BIPV sector, special coatings may be required as the result of the use of novel absorber materials in BIPV.  In addition, NanoMarkets believes that in the emerging BIPV market there will be a considerable trend toward flexible PV because of its ability to offer lightweight installation and improved aesthetics.  On the one hand this means new opportunities for suppliers of special metal substrates.  But it will also require cost effective flexible encapsulation systems. 
With all this in mind, in this report, NanoMarkets quantifies the new business revenues that will be generated by novel substrates in the BIPV sector as well as by advanced multi-layer encapsulation systems, including the new breed of encapsulation system that makes use of atomic layer deposition (ALD).  The report also discusses how, as monolithic integration becomes more common in BIPV, specialist encapsulation systems will be  required to protect the relatively delicate CIGS, OPV and DSC absorber materials that will be used in such products.
Finally, the report takes a look at how the leading suppliers of encapsulation products are viewing BIPV as a market for their products.  In addition, this report includes a granular eight-year forecast of the BIPV encapsulation and substrate markets in volume and value terms.

Methodology of this Report

Extensive interviews with various industry and academic sources carried out in the spring of 2012 are the primary source of the opinions and conclusions in this report.
Additionally, some of the data for this report comes from other NanoMarkets reports including “Markets for OLED Encapsulation Materials 2011” (nano-421) and “Encapsulation and Flexible Substrates for Thin-Film Photovoltaics” (nano-231). Where information has been used from an earlier report, it has been reinvestigated, reanalyzed, and reconsidered in light of current developments and updated accordingly.
Secondary research for this report was also taken from information available on the World Wide Web, commercial and government databases, trade press articles, technical literature, information learned at technical conferences and trade shows, SEC filings, and other corporate literature.
The forecasting approach taken in this report is explained in more detail in Chapter Four, but the basic approach taken here is to look at the underlying needs and markets, as well as the different BIPV encapsulation technologies and types of products available or under development, to
assess the suitability and likely volume of each BIPV encapsulation technology and of the
materials used in them over the next eight years.
The stated plans of the key firms are of course of special interest, although NanoMarkets critically considers these claims in light of all available data.

Plan of this Report

In Chapter Two, the report reviews the materials and suppliers that are unique to building integrated PV. Also included is a brief overview of relevant technical points and materials innovations on the horizon for improved encapsulation properties and overall cell reliability, as well as the encapsulation materials cost reduction roadmap.
Chapter Three investigates the markets for BIPV encapsulation materials for both rigid and flexible modules for all of the major absorber materials. An especially close look will be taken with respect to the changing requirements for encapsulation for all BIPV applications.
Finally, Chapter Four contains our eight-year forecasts of the markets for the BIPV encapsulation materials discussed in the other chapters of the report. We quantify the markets for BIPV encapsulation and include forecasts for substrate materials and encapsulation materials, with a further breakdown by associated absorber type.

Building Material Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
E.1 Emerging Opportunities for Rigid BIPV Encapsulation?
E.1.1 Glass Will Continue to Dominate
E.1.2 Advanced Encapsulation Systems Will Increasingly be Needed
E.2 What Changes in Demand for Flexible BIPV Encapsulation Will Occur in the Next Five Years?
E.2.1 The Growing Importance of Atomic Layer Deposition
E.2.2 Trends Towards Advanced Substrates
E.3 Future Trends and Opportunities in BIPV Glass Encapsulation
E.4 Niche Opportunities for Encapsulating CIGS, OPV, and DSC BIPV products
E.5 Key Firms to Watch
E.5.1 Glass Firms
E.5.2 Multilayer and ALD Barrier Firms
E.6 Reducing Costs and Creating Value in BIPV with Encapsulation Technology
E.7  Summary of the Eight-Year Forecasts of Encapsulation and Substrate Materials for BIPV
E.7.1 Rigid BIPV Substrates and Encapsulation
E.7.2 Flexible BIPV Encapsulation and Substrates
E.7.3 BIPV Glass Encapsulation and Substrates
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background to this Report
1.1.1 Flexible Module Encapsulation Opportunities
1.1.2 Rigid Module Encapsulation Opportunities
1.2 Objectives and Scope of this Report
1.3 Methodology of this Report
1.4 Plan of this Report
Chapter Two: Current and Evolving Encapsulation Technologies for BIPV Markets
2.1 Alternatives to Glass Encapsulation: Metals and Polymers
2.1.1 Polymer Films: How Costs Can Come Down
2.1.2 Metal Options: Steel and Aluminum
2.1.3 Ceramic Films: Advantages and Disadvantages
2.2 Flexible Encapsulants for BIPV
2.3 The Dyad Option: Best of Both Worlds, But at What Cost?
2.4 The Special Needs of CIGS and OPV/DSC BIPV
2.4.1 CIGS and OPV/DSC in BIPV
2.4.2 Current and Future Encapsulation Trends in CIGS and OPV/DSC BIPV
2.5 Key Points Made in this Chapter
Chapter Three: Current and Evolving Encapsulation Technologies for BIPV Markets
3.1 The Limits of Glass Encapsulation for BIPV
3.1.1 Changing Requirements for Rigid BIPV Encapsulation
3.1.2 Changing Requirements for Flexible BIPV Encapsulation
3.1.3 Changing Requirements for BIPV Glass Encapsulation
3.2 New Opportunities for Glass in BIPV Encapsulation
3.2.1 Opportunities for Flexible Glass in BIPV
3.3 The Future of Plastic Film and Other Advanced Encapsulation Systems in BIPV
3.4 Encapsulation of BIPV on Sheet Steel and Aluminum
3.5 Encapsulation of BIPV on Other Roofing and Siding Materials
3.6 A Roadmap for Encapsulation in BIPV
3.7 Key Points Made in this Chapter
Chapter Four: Eight-Year Forecasts of Encapsulation and Substrate Markets for Building Integrated Photovoltaics
4.1 Forecasting Methodology
4.1.1 Information Sources
4.1.2 Scope of the Forecast
4.2 Forecasts for BIPV Substrates and Encapsulation
4.2.1 Forecast for Rigid BIPV Module Substrates
4.2.2 Forecast for Rigid BIPV Module Encapsulation
4.2.3 Forecast for Flexible BIPV Module Substrates
4.2.4 Forecast for Flexible BIPV Module Encapsulation
4.2.5 Forecasts of BIPV Glass Substrates and Encapsulation
4.3 Summary of Forecasts
Acronyms and Abbreviations Used In this Report
About the Author
List of Exhibits
Exhibit E-1: Total  BIPV Substrate and Encapsulant Revenues by BIPV Module Type 
Exhibit 4-1: Substrate Materials for Crystalline Silicon Rigid BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-2: Cost for Substrates Used in PV ($ per square meter) 
Exhibit 4-3: Substrate Materials for TF-Si Rigid BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-4: Substrate Materials for TF CdTe Rigid BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-5: Substrate Materials for TF CIGS Rigid BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-6: Substrate Materials for TF OPV/DSC Rigid BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-7: Total Rigid BIPV Substrate  Material Revenues by Material Type 
Exhibit 4-8: Encapsulation Materials for Rigid BIPV  c-Si PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-9: Encapsulation Materials for Rigid BIPV  Thin-Film Si PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-10: Encapsulation Materials for Rigid BIPV CdTe PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-11: Encapsulation Materials for Rigid BIPV CIGS PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-12: Encapsulation Materials for Rigid BIPV OPV/DSC PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-13: Total Rigid BIPV Encapsulation Material Revenues by Material Type 
Exhibit 4-14: Substrate Materials for TF Si Flexible BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-15:  Substrate Materials for TF CdTe Flexible BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-16: Substrate Materials for TF CIGS Flexible BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-17: Substrate Materials for TF OPV/DSC Flexible BIPV Cells 
Exhibit 4-18: Total flexible BIPV Substrate  Material Revenues by Material Type 
Exhibit 4-19: Total Flexible BIPV Encapsulation  Material Revenues by Material Type 
Exhibit 4-20: Substrate Materials for BIPV Glass Cells by Absorber Type 
Exhibit 4-21: Encapsulation Materials for BIPV Glass  c-Si PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-22: Encapsulation Materials for BIPV Glass Thin-Film Si PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-23: Encapsulation Materials for BIPV Glass CdTe PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-24: Encapsulation Materials for BIPV Glass CIGS PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-25: Encapsulation Materials for BIPV Glass OPV/DSC PV Cells 
Exhibit 4-26: Total BIPV Glass Encapsulation Material Revenues by Material Type 
Exhibit 4-27: Total  BIPV Substrate and Encapsulation Revenue by BIPV Module Type