First EPIA International Conference on Thin Films in the Solar Photovoltaic Sector to offer in-depth market trends and evolution of this technology.
EPIA will host International Conference on Thin Films in the Solar Photovoltaic sector in November 2008 in Munich, Germany. The conference will provide insight on global market trends, last technological achievements, and a full analysis from material and equipment suppliers to module manufacturers including recycling activities in the Thin Film industry.
Although all PV technologies face high expansion rates, Thin Film capacities are currently expanding at a faster rate than capacities for other technologies. Approximately 4GW of Thin Film capacity is expected to be available by the end of 2010. This would represent 20% of the overall module capacity.
For this reason, topics as reduction of production cost and the performance and reliability of the product over a long lifetime must be addressed. Standardization and recycling of thin Film modules are topics of increased interested and therefore will also be discussed during the conference.
Background
Photovoltaic solar electricity systems do have the potential to deliver electricity on a large scale at competitive cost in the near future. One of the main obstacle of PV today to serve as an important energy source is the high production cost of the PV module.
Today PV is dominated by wafer-based Crystalline Silicon Technology as the "working horse" in the global market (around 90% share of the market in 2007). Thin Film technologies have the highest cost reduction potentials of all PV technologies in the mid and long term. The currently used thin film materials are amorphous/ microcrystalline Silicon and the compound polycrystalline semiconductors CdTe and CIS (CIS holds for the material family of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2). All of them are developing fast and are already in the status from small startups to large scale productions.
EPIA will host International Conference on Thin Films in the Solar Photovoltaic sector in November 2008 in Munich, Germany. The conference will provide insight on global market trends, last technological achievements, and a full analysis from material and equipment suppliers to module manufacturers including recycling activities in the Thin Film industry.
Although all PV technologies face high expansion rates, Thin Film capacities are currently expanding at a faster rate than capacities for other technologies. Approximately 4GW of Thin Film capacity is expected to be available by the end of 2010. This would represent 20% of the overall module capacity.
For this reason, topics as reduction of production cost and the performance and reliability of the product over a long lifetime must be addressed. Standardization and recycling of thin Film modules are topics of increased interested and therefore will also be discussed during the conference.
Background
Photovoltaic solar electricity systems do have the potential to deliver electricity on a large scale at competitive cost in the near future. One of the main obstacle of PV today to serve as an important energy source is the high production cost of the PV module.
Today PV is dominated by wafer-based Crystalline Silicon Technology as the "working horse" in the global market (around 90% share of the market in 2007). Thin Film technologies have the highest cost reduction potentials of all PV technologies in the mid and long term. The currently used thin film materials are amorphous/ microcrystalline Silicon and the compound polycrystalline semiconductors CdTe and CIS (CIS holds for the material family of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2). All of them are developing fast and are already in the status from small startups to large scale productions.
