The global ultra-thin solar cells market attained a revenue of $30.0 million in 2019 and is expected to progress at an explosive CAGR of 56.9% between 2020 and 2030, as per the estimates of P&S Intelligence, a market research company based in India. The rapidly falling costs of photovoltaic (PV) panel parts and components and the rising demand for renewable energy are the major factors fueling the advancement of the market across the globe.

The falling costs of PV components is an important market driver. This is because the total cost of solar electricity is primarily determined by the purchase cost of the PV cells, which is falling rapidly because of the reducing costs of the PV parts and components. This is, in turn, positively impacting the sales of PV cells around the world. Moreover, the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) of PV panels is far lesser than other renewable energy sources.

However, the LCoE of PV panels is significantly greater than fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the LCoE of coal and PV cells will be $55.7 per Megawatt-hour (MWh) and $66 per MWh respectively by 2020. Furthermore, these costs will be equal in 2024 and as per the agency, the LCoE of coal will be $57.3 per MWh while that of the PV cells will be $40.0 per MWh in 2040.

Depending on technology, the ultra-thin solar cells market is classified into cadmium telluride (CdTe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). Out of these, the CdTe category is expected to dominate the market in the future years, because it is the only technology, in terms of power producing efficiency and cost, that presently rivals the crystalline silicone (c-Si) PV cells. Moreover, the other technologies are still in the testing stages and are therefore, not being used much.

Between the off-grid and on-grid categories, present under the grid type segment of the ultra-thin solar cells market, the latter is predicted to lead the market in the forthcoming years. The main factors responsible for the high growth of this category are the several advantages of on-grid systems over the conventionally used off-grid systems such as their ability to provide power at all times during the day unlike the off-grid systems which can only function in the presence of sunlight.

In addition to the aforementioned factor, the easy availability of grid connectivity in several regions and countries around the world is also fueling the expansion of this category in the market. Geographically, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) ultra-thin solar cells market is predicted to be very lucrative in the upcoming years, because of the soaring number of R&D (research and development) projects being launched in the regional countries by the ultra-thin solar cells manufacturing companies.

Therefore, it is pretty clear that due to the rising requirement for renewable energy in various industrial and residential applications, because of the rising environmental degradation being caused due to the usage of fossil fuels for power generation, and the falling prices of PV panels, the market will demonstrate rapid expansion in the upcoming years.

Source: P&S Intelligence