THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) MARKET: Global Landscape, India Demand-Supply Gap & MSME Startup Strategy
Thin Film Photovoltaic Manufacturing in India Contents 1 MARKET INSIGHT2 The Thin-Film PV Market: An Industrial Overview2.1 Get Detailed Insights from This Book: Solar PV Power and Solar Products Handbook3 Global Manufacturing Landscape: Key Players Shaping the Industry3.1 Access Complete Business Plan: Start a Manufacturing Unit of Solar Panel. The Renewable-Energy Business is Expected to Keep High Growth.4 Technology Deep-Dive: CdTe, CIGS, and Amorphous Silicon4.1 Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)4.2 Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS)4.3 Amorphous Silicon (a-Si)4.4 Choose the right startup backed by real market demand5 Demand-Supply Gap: India’s Solar Manufacturing Deficit5.1 DEMAND-SUPPLY GAP INSIGHT6 Major Indian Players in the Thin-Film & Solar PV Ecosystem6.1 MAJOR INDIAN PLAYERS6.2 Related Article: Solar PV Manufacturing in India7 Import-Export Dynamics and Policy Environment8 Startup & MSME Opportunity: Entry Points for New Manufacturers8.1 STARTUP OPPORTUNITY INSIGHT9 How NPCS Can Help You Evaluate This Opportunity10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) MARKET INSIGHT The worldwide thin-film PV (TFPV) market is worth more than USD 20 billion and is growing at more than 17% CAGR, fuelled by the growth of portable applications and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications as well as utility-scale solar. The National Solar Mission (NSM) which aims to add one million MW of solar power by 2030, has created a high priority manufacturing opportunity for the thin-film PV industry with a significant import substitution potential. Structural demand-supply gap for thin-film modules is currently being met by imports from China, Japan and USA, which MSME manufacturers can close with the country. The Thin-Film PV Market: An Industrial Overview The solar energy market has experienced a fundamental change in the last 10 years, with thin film photovoltaic (PV) technology becoming a commercially viable and technically valuable alternative to traditional crystalline silicon solar modules in several high value applications. Thin-film PV cells are produced by depositing one or more ultra-thin layers of photovoltaic semiconductor material, usually in micrometres, onto a substrate like glass, metal foil or flexible plastic, and are not made by the energy-intensive ingot slicing and thick wafer processing used in conventional silicon wafer-based PV panels. This basic production disparity allows the production of significantly less material per watt of power output, power output flexibility, and distinctly superior performance characteristics under real world conditions. Get Detailed Insights from This Book: Solar PV Power and Solar Products Handbook The three major commercial types of thin-film technology are Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS or CIS), and Amorphous Silicon (a-Si). Each of the technologies offers a specific set of efficiency, cost and application characteristics. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that solar PV technology has become the world’s cheapest energy source to date in large parts of the world, and even thin-film PV technologies play a major part in this cost reduction trend, adding that solar PV has opened up new application categories besides the fixed-frame rooftop panel. The Indian solar market is at the cross-roads of energy security, climate change and manufacturing. India is a sizeable, ongoing, policy-driven and sunny market, both for PV equipment and as a manufacturing hub for PV energy supply. Global Manufacturing Landscape: Key Players Shaping the Industry Many vertically integrated technology conglomerates and a handful of thin-film innovators, all vertically integrated, are present in North America, East Asia and Europe that dominate the thin-film PV industry. The following table provides a summary of the key manufacturers active in this area, the country of origin for the manufacturer and the key technology that is used, as well as the main markets targeted. Company Country Technology Key Market Segment First Solar USA CdTe Thin-Film Utility-Scale Solar Jinko Solar China Multi-Tech including TF Utility & Commercial JA Solar Co. Ltd China Multi-Technology Global Utility Panasonic Corporation Japan HIT / Thin-Film Residential & Commercial Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Japan Amorphous Silicon Commercial & Industrial Sharp Corporation Japan CIGS Thin-Film Residential & BIPV Kyocera Corporation Japan Multi-crystalline & TF Commercial Systems Kaneka Corporation Japan Amorphous Si (a-Si) BIPV & Flexible MiaSole USA CIGS on Foil Flexible / Portable Solar Ascent Solar Technologies USA CIGS on Plastic Aerospace & Wearables Hanergy Mobile Energy China CIGS / GaAs Mobile & Portable Energy Yingli Green Energy China Multi-Technology Utility & Rooftop Trina Solar China Multi-Technology Global Utility ReneSola Co. Ltd China Thin-Film & Si Commercial Rooftop Suntech Power Holdings China Multi-Technology Utility Scale SUNQ China Thin-Film Consumer & Portable Trony Solar China Amorphous Silicon Commercial Solar Filsom AG Europe CIGS Thin-Film BIPV & Industrial Shunfeng Intl Clean Energy China Multi-Technology Utility Scale First Solar is the world’s leading technology company in large-scale, CdTe-solar, and has long been the low-cost leader in the U.S., European and portions of Asian utility-scale markets. The Chinese players (Jinko Solar, JA Solar, Trina Solar, Yingli, ReneSola, Suntech, SUNQ, Trony and Shunfeng) are the powerhouse behind the current 90%+ drop in PV module prices over the last 20 years. Meanwhile, the module efficiency and integration of BIPV products are still being dominated by Japanese technology companies, such as Panasonic, Sharp, Mitsubishi Electric, Kyocera, and Kaneka. Ascent Solar Technologies and MiaSole are pushing the envelope on the ultra-lightweight, flexible thin-film into defense, aerospace and wearable consumer applications. European specialist Filsom AG is taking the lead in the BIPV architectural segment, thanks to its precision CIGS deposition technology. Access Complete Business Plan: Start a Manufacturing Unit of Solar Panel. The Renewable-Energy Business is Expected to Keep High Growth. Technology Deep-Dive: CdTe, CIGS, and Amorphous Silicon Every type of thin film technology is in a different niche in the solar industry, with varying levels of capital intensity, manufacturing needs, and points of entry for MSMEs interested in entering this growing sector. Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) The non-silicon solar market is dominated by CdTe thin-film. It offers the lowest manufacturing cost per watt of any commercially available PV technology and has a particular advantage in high heat, high humidity applications which are common in much of the solar belt in India. First Solar’s position is well entrenched, but the patents available in the space are beginning to give other companies a









