Global Flexible PV Cell Market 2024 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2030

A flexible PV cell which is also known as thin film solar cell that is made by depositing very thin layers of photovoltaics material on any kind of substrate, such as, paper, tissue, plastic, glass or metal. It is one of the most revolutionary and epoch making technologies in the sector of solar energy.
The significance of the word “flexible” is that, these kind of solar cells are not like those traditional big, bulky solar panels which is very common nowadays, these are literally flexible, very thin, lightweight, have very little installation cost and can be installed anywhere without going much trouble.
Thickness of a typical cell varies from a few nanometers to few micrometers, whereas its’s predecessor crystalline-silicon solar cell (c-Si) has a wafer size up to 200 micrometers.
In this report, we define flexible PV cells as PV modues fabricated on flexible substrate materials (most commonly used substrates are polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and metal foils such as stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti)), including flexible a-Si thin film cells, flexible CIGS cells, flexible CdTe cells, OPV cells, flexible DSSC and flexible perovskite PV.
Silicon (Si) solar cells dominate the PV market (92%) followed by cadmium telluride (CdTe, 5%), copper indium gallium selenide (CuInGaSe2or CIGS, 2%) and amorphous silicon (a-Si:H, ~1%). Si wafer with thickness around 180 μm is the traditional materialbeing used for module manufacturing and it has attained significant level of maturity at the industrial level. Its production cost is amajor concern for energy applications. About 50% of the cost of Si solar cells production is due to Si substrate, and device processingand module processing accounts for 20% and 30% respectively.
An alternate to Si solar cells is the thin film solar cells fabricated on glass substrates. The main demerits of using glass substratesare fragile nature of modules, cost of glass wafer having thickness of 300–400 μm, and low specific power (kW/kg) etc. Specific poweris an important factor when solar cells are used in space applications. A high specific power exceeding 2 kW/kg can be achieved by flexible solar cells on polymer films which is useful for terrestrial as well as space applications. Production cost can be lowered byusing flexible substrates and roll-to-roll production (R2R) technique. Apart from light weight, flexibility and less cost of installation,flexible cell processing involves low thermal budget with low material consumption. Other than solar cell applications, smallerspecialized applications are beginning to become more viable independent markets, including applications for mobile power and building or product integration, which can benefit greatly from flexible thin film options. Flexible cells on buildings (known asbuilding integrated photovoltaics or BIPV) can minimize the cost of support, shipments etc., and installations can be handled easily. However, flexible solar cell technology is less mature when compared to the cells fabricated on rigid substrate counterpart.
Due to four main requirements - high efficiency, low-cost production, high throughput and high specific power, a major researchand development focus has been shifted towards flexible solar cells. It can offer a unique way to reach terawatt scale installation byusing high throughput R2R fabrication technique. Most commonly used substrates are polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and metal foils such as stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti).
The performance of flexible solar cells is comparable to rigid substrates. Flexible substrates are more advantageous than standardsoda-lime glass (SLG) substrates. As mentioned below, there are several merits of using flexible substrates:
• Flexible modules are best suited for curved surfaces and used in BIPV. Since modules are produced from thin film materials it issuitable for mass production.
• An important benefit is that it has potential to reduce the production cost. R2R deposition is beneficial in terms of production costthan that of rigid substrates. Glass cover is an added expense when rigid substrates are used.
• Materials required to produce CIGS, CdTe and a-Si:H flexible modules are much cheaper than conventional Si wafer, glass cover,frames used in Si modules.
• For roof top application, flexible modules are ideal due to light weight. Using lightweight support, it can be installed over the rooftop where glass covered conventional heavy and bulky Si modules are not suitable when roof test fails due to an added weight andstructural issues. Flexible modules can also be installed over the roof of the vehicle, uneven surfaces of building.
• Installation/labor cost is much lower for flexible modules due to less installation time since racking assembly, glass cover etc. arenot required.
• Low power output flexible modules for example a-Si:H require large number of modules to get desired output which can beinstalled easily above the roof top.
• Glass covered rigid modules are fragile. Flexible modules are not fragile it can be rolled up, transported and handled easily.
Photovoltaic (PV) technologies are basically divided into two big categories: wafer-based PV (also called 1st generation PV) and thin-film cell PV. The emerging thin-film PVs are also called 3rd generation PVs, which refer to PVs using technologies that have the potential to overcome Shockley-Queisser limit or are based on novel semiconductors. The 3rd generation PVs include DSSC, organic photovoltaic (OPV), quantum dot (QD) PV and perovskite PV. The cell efficiencies of perovskite are approaching that of commercialized 2nd generation technologies such as CdTe and CIGS. Other emerging PV technologies are still struggling with lab cell efficiencies lower than 15%.
According to our (Global Info Research) latest study, the global Flexible PV Cell market size was valued at US$ 27.1 million in 2023 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 37.2 million by 2030 with a CAGR of 4.7% during review period.
In the industry, Sun Harmonics shipments most in 2019 and recent years, while HyET Solar and PowerFilm, Inc. ranked 2 and 3. The top 3 Flexible PV Cell manufacturers accounted for around 62% revenue market share in 2019.
The manufacturer headquarters is mainly distributed in North America, Europe, China and Japan.
There are six types of Flexible PV Cell including Flexible CIGS Solar Cells, Flexible a-Si Solar Cells, Organic Solar Cells (OPV), Flexible CdTe Solar Cells, Flexible DSSC, Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells. In addition, the application consists of BIPV, Transportation & Mobility, Defense & Aerospace, Consumer & Portable Power. BIPV occupied nearly 51% of global flexible PV Cell sales market share in 2019.
This report is a detailed and comprehensive analysis for global Flexible PV Cell market. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are presented by manufacturers, by region & country, by Type and by Application. As the market is constantly changing, this report explores the competition, supply and demand trends, as well as key factors that contribute to its changing demands across many markets. Company profiles and product examples of selected competitors, along with market share estimates of some of the selected leaders for the year 2024, are provided.
Key Features:
Global Flexible PV Cell market size and forecasts, in consumption value ($ Million), sales quantity (MW), and average selling prices (US $/W), 2019-2030
Global Flexible PV Cell market size and forecasts by region and country, in consumption value ($ Million), sales quantity (MW), and average selling prices (US $/W), 2019-2030
Global Flexible PV Cell market size and forecasts, by Type and by Application, in consumption value ($ Million), sales quantity (MW), and average selling prices (US $/W), 2019-2030
Global Flexible PV Cell market shares of main players, shipments in revenue ($ Million), sales quantity (MW), and ASP (US $/W), 2019-2024
The Primary Objectives in This Report Are:
To determine the size of the total market opportunity of global and key countries
To assess the growth potential for Flexible PV Cell
To forecast future growth in each product and end-use market
To assess competitive factors affecting the marketplace
This report profiles key players in the global Flexible PV Cell market based on the following parameters - company overview, sales quantity, revenue, price, gross margin, product portfolio, geographical presence, and key developments. Key companies covered as a part of this study include PowerFilm, Inc., Panasonic, infinityPV, Flisom, Sun Harmonics, F-WAVE Company, Heliatek GmbH, HyET Solar, Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc, etc.
This report also provides key insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approvals.
Market Segmentation
Flexible PV Cell market is split by Type and by Application. For the period 2019-2030, the growth among segments provides accurate calculations and forecasts for consumption value by Type, and by Application in terms of volume and value. This analysis can help you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets.
Market segment by Type
CIGS
a-Si
OPV
Others
Market segment by Application
BIPV
Transportation & Mobility
Defense & Aerospace
Consumer & Portable Power
Others
Major players covered
PowerFilm, Inc.
Panasonic
infinityPV
Flisom
Sun Harmonics
F-WAVE Company
Heliatek GmbH
HyET Solar
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc
Market segment by region, regional analysis covers
North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico)
Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, and Rest of Europe)
Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia)
South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Rest of South America)
Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)
The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:
Chapter 1, to describe Flexible PV Cell product scope, market overview, market estimation caveats and base year.
Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Flexible PV Cell, with price, sales quantity, revenue, and global market share of Flexible PV Cell from 2019 to 2024.
Chapter 3, the Flexible PV Cell competitive situation, sales quantity, revenue, and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.
Chapter 4, the Flexible PV Cell breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales quantity, consumption value, and growth by regions, from 2019 to 2030.
Chapter 5 and 6, to segment the sales by Type and by Application, with sales market share and growth rate by Type, by Application, from 2019 to 2030.
Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales quantity, consumption value, and market share for key countries in the world, from 2019 to 2024.and Flexible PV Cell market forecast, by regions, by Type, and by Application, with sales and revenue, from 2025 to 2030.
Chapter 12, market dynamics, drivers, restraints, trends, and Porters Five Forces analysis.
Chapter 13, the key raw materials and key suppliers, and industry chain of Flexible PV Cell.
Chapter 14 and 15, to describe Flexible PV Cell sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion.