David Savastano, Editor05.18.22
Editor’ Note: In Part 1, we discussed the challenges facing OPV, and the growth in the industry. Please see this link for more information.
More than a decade ago, organic photovoltaics (OPV) was seen as a breakthrough technology, one that would change the way we all live. Much has gone on since the initial rush of investment, and many companes have gone by the wayside.
Still, OPV makes a lot of sense, as it can utilize low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing to generate power for buildings, vehicles and much more. The fact that OPV also can generate light indoors, and can be customized and even flexible are ideal for designers.
Today, there are a few companies that have made significant headway in the OPV market. They are working on different markets and improving the technology well past where it was a decade ago. OPV will not replace traditional photovoltaic solutions such as silicon and cadmium telluride, but it has its own applications where OPV can flourish.
Stephan Kube, head of marketing for Heliatek GmbH, said that wherever solar solutions are needed, Heliatek find its applications.
“The question rather goes into the direction of applications;” Kube continued. “Our key message really is that our market is basically where conventional PV solutions reaches their limits in terms of weight or surface restrictions. It’s a complementary solution that makes more surfaces, especially on buildings, suitable for PV electricity generation.”
That doesn’t mean that OPV can compete with silicon-based photovoltaics, but will remain a niche, at least in the outdoor markets. For example, in the case of building integrated photovoltaics, the weight of a silicon PV cell makes it unusable for hanging on the side of the building, and the ability to fit on curved surfaces is another advantage for OPV.
“Wherever you can install conventional PV panels, it’s the better choice, because the silicon technology is 20-30 years more mature, with high efficiencies, lowest prices and proven lifetime,” added Kube. “This is something we cannot compete right now with our young technology, but we are convinced that we have the ingredients to drive efficiencies further up, cost down and prove long lifetime.”
Hermann Issa, SVP business development and project management at ASCA, observed that OPV plays a key role in many different markets, as it transforms any surface into a power generator, both outdoors and indoors. Issa noted that OPV’s advantages include the ability to be customized according to shape and even curvature.
“It is thin, flexible, lightweight and can be produced in different colors,” Issa said. “ASCA markets custom shape solar solutions to perfectly fit with the needs of the project and be seamlessly integrated in the environment of use. OPV is an answer for almost every market when energy is needed and other technologies are not appropriate.”
Interestingly, OPV can work indoors, and this is an area of interest to Epishine.
“Currently Epishine is targeting the indoor light energy harvesting market,” said Emma Woxlin, co-founder of Epishine. “We believe that this is the market where OPV will play a key role in the short term. Looking beyond, we believe that the next market where Epishine will play a key role is in building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Our vision is to produce organic solar cells that will contribute to accelerating the global shift to sustainable energy solutions.”
Issa also reported that there is important potential in the small electronics sector and for architecture and design fields.
“In small electronics, OPV can be used to power the booming world of IoT devices as it has very good behavior in low light conditions. It allows companies to get rid of batteries which represent an important environmental issue, lower the maintenance cost and improve the lifespan of the devices,” said Issa.
“In architecture and design, OPV can be directly integrated in the building envelope, even for curved architecture,” Issa added. “It is integrated in façades, glazing, guardrails, shadings system. Every construction can produce energy for more sustainable architecture. OPV is a renewable energy with a low environmental footprint, the lowest in comparison with other solar technologies.”
There are OPV products on the market, with large-scale manufacturing for the most part still in the future.
“Our key product is the HeliaSol in the dimensions 436x2000 that we produce in our series manufacturing, still in small volumes, because we simply need to make it still a little bit better before producing in large quantities,” said Kube. “So, the answer is yes and no. Yes, because we have small volumes that we use in first customer projects, and no, it’s not available in large quantities and not in all markets. The small volumes now basically go to selected key customers.”
“Epishine is selling OPV light energy harvesting modules to our customers,” said Woxlin. “Some of them are on the market already and some of them are doing proof of concept and pilot series.”
“Some companies commercialize standard products for the building and the IoT industries,” said Issa. “ASCA commercializes bespoke solutions adapted to the use case and the needs of the client: almost any shape or color are possible to be seamlessly integrated where the solar solution is used.”
Issa noted that ASCA has OPV solutions in use worldwide.
“Many players are integrating OPV in their IoT products,’ added Issa. “For example, ROOMZ has launched of a solar kit - ROOMZ Solar Kit - integrating an ASCA solution to upgrade its room reservation management solution. The kit replaces the batteries of the display screens to make them energy self-sufficient and reduce their environmental footprint. We should see the first ranges of products commercialized by 2025. Next, OPV will then become the standard for IoT sensors.
“Collaborations with designers and architects are constantly increasing,” added Issa. “Last summer, ASCA and the glass processor BGT installed transparent, energy-generating glass balustrades on condominiums in Stuttgart Möhringen. The design studio of Marjan van Aubel also designed the colorful solar-paneled roof of the Netherlands pavilion integrating ASCA modules during the Expo 2020 Dubaï. In spring 2022, a new building in Basel will be inaugurated integrating more than 12,000 diamond-shape ASCA modules powering a zero-energy media façade. We expect an exponential growth of architectural projects integrating OPV thereafter.”
Woxlin noted that Epishine is targeting electronic manufacturers where product development usually takes two to three years, meaning long sales cycles for Epishine.
“When entering the BIPV market, the regulations and requirements will be very high and both sales cycles and market adoption is expected to take even longer,” added Woxlin. “At the same time, we see a rising trend on the market that companies are accelerating the use of environmentally friendly options that could speed up the market.”
Kube noted that OPV initially was of interest in the R&D world, since there was research on, simply because of the advantages and the potential applications.
“The biggest challenge really is to produce at scale and manage the triangle of efficiency, cost and lifetime,” added Kube. “If you are the pioneer, trying to solve that, you can easily imagine it’s a huge challenge, because no one can really help us on that way. The way we overcome it is simply with our team of experts and our network of strong partners and institute. We believe we will get better step by step. It’s nothing that happens over night, but we make good progress.
“But in the common perception, it’s now just starting to gain traction, when real products become available. That is why it’s such an exciting time, to see products slowing coming onto the market and finding its customers and applications. You can imagine, it’s something we are very proud if after years of R&D,” Kube concluded.
The question then becomes as to when OPV will become more common in the marketplace.
“I think in terms of market relevance it’s quite easy to say,” said Kube. “We can produce max 80-100 MW/year and the global PV market its more than 100 GW right now. So, it’s a niche product and the market is simply dominated by silicon PV, which will likely not change. But we believe there is a huge niche we target, and in that niche, I think we can be really successful, because there are still not so many solutions available or if so, not with the combination of lightweight, thin, flexibility and as green as we are.”
“In the indoor light energy harvesting market, we see that OPV will become more and more common during the coming one to five years,” Woxlin noted. “Further, we believe that Epishine will enter the BIPV market with OPV before 2030.”
More than a decade ago, organic photovoltaics (OPV) was seen as a breakthrough technology, one that would change the way we all live. Much has gone on since the initial rush of investment, and many companes have gone by the wayside.
Still, OPV makes a lot of sense, as it can utilize low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing to generate power for buildings, vehicles and much more. The fact that OPV also can generate light indoors, and can be customized and even flexible are ideal for designers.
Today, there are a few companies that have made significant headway in the OPV market. They are working on different markets and improving the technology well past where it was a decade ago. OPV will not replace traditional photovoltaic solutions such as silicon and cadmium telluride, but it has its own applications where OPV can flourish.
Key Markets for OPV
Initially, OPV manufacturers were targeting large-scale operations, but the low efficiencies and unsure lifetimes of the products were a considerable concern. Today’s OPV companies have different applications in mind.Stephan Kube, head of marketing for Heliatek GmbH, said that wherever solar solutions are needed, Heliatek find its applications.
“The question rather goes into the direction of applications;” Kube continued. “Our key message really is that our market is basically where conventional PV solutions reaches their limits in terms of weight or surface restrictions. It’s a complementary solution that makes more surfaces, especially on buildings, suitable for PV electricity generation.”
That doesn’t mean that OPV can compete with silicon-based photovoltaics, but will remain a niche, at least in the outdoor markets. For example, in the case of building integrated photovoltaics, the weight of a silicon PV cell makes it unusable for hanging on the side of the building, and the ability to fit on curved surfaces is another advantage for OPV.
“Wherever you can install conventional PV panels, it’s the better choice, because the silicon technology is 20-30 years more mature, with high efficiencies, lowest prices and proven lifetime,” added Kube. “This is something we cannot compete right now with our young technology, but we are convinced that we have the ingredients to drive efficiencies further up, cost down and prove long lifetime.”
Hermann Issa, SVP business development and project management at ASCA, observed that OPV plays a key role in many different markets, as it transforms any surface into a power generator, both outdoors and indoors. Issa noted that OPV’s advantages include the ability to be customized according to shape and even curvature.
“It is thin, flexible, lightweight and can be produced in different colors,” Issa said. “ASCA markets custom shape solar solutions to perfectly fit with the needs of the project and be seamlessly integrated in the environment of use. OPV is an answer for almost every market when energy is needed and other technologies are not appropriate.”
Interestingly, OPV can work indoors, and this is an area of interest to Epishine.
“Currently Epishine is targeting the indoor light energy harvesting market,” said Emma Woxlin, co-founder of Epishine. “We believe that this is the market where OPV will play a key role in the short term. Looking beyond, we believe that the next market where Epishine will play a key role is in building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Our vision is to produce organic solar cells that will contribute to accelerating the global shift to sustainable energy solutions.”
Issa also reported that there is important potential in the small electronics sector and for architecture and design fields.
“In small electronics, OPV can be used to power the booming world of IoT devices as it has very good behavior in low light conditions. It allows companies to get rid of batteries which represent an important environmental issue, lower the maintenance cost and improve the lifespan of the devices,” said Issa.
“In architecture and design, OPV can be directly integrated in the building envelope, even for curved architecture,” Issa added. “It is integrated in façades, glazing, guardrails, shadings system. Every construction can produce energy for more sustainable architecture. OPV is a renewable energy with a low environmental footprint, the lowest in comparison with other solar technologies.”
There are OPV products on the market, with large-scale manufacturing for the most part still in the future.
“Our key product is the HeliaSol in the dimensions 436x2000 that we produce in our series manufacturing, still in small volumes, because we simply need to make it still a little bit better before producing in large quantities,” said Kube. “So, the answer is yes and no. Yes, because we have small volumes that we use in first customer projects, and no, it’s not available in large quantities and not in all markets. The small volumes now basically go to selected key customers.”
“Epishine is selling OPV light energy harvesting modules to our customers,” said Woxlin. “Some of them are on the market already and some of them are doing proof of concept and pilot series.”
“Some companies commercialize standard products for the building and the IoT industries,” said Issa. “ASCA commercializes bespoke solutions adapted to the use case and the needs of the client: almost any shape or color are possible to be seamlessly integrated where the solar solution is used.”
Issa noted that ASCA has OPV solutions in use worldwide.
“Many players are integrating OPV in their IoT products,’ added Issa. “For example, ROOMZ has launched of a solar kit - ROOMZ Solar Kit - integrating an ASCA solution to upgrade its room reservation management solution. The kit replaces the batteries of the display screens to make them energy self-sufficient and reduce their environmental footprint. We should see the first ranges of products commercialized by 2025. Next, OPV will then become the standard for IoT sensors.
“Collaborations with designers and architects are constantly increasing,” added Issa. “Last summer, ASCA and the glass processor BGT installed transparent, energy-generating glass balustrades on condominiums in Stuttgart Möhringen. The design studio of Marjan van Aubel also designed the colorful solar-paneled roof of the Netherlands pavilion integrating ASCA modules during the Expo 2020 Dubaï. In spring 2022, a new building in Basel will be inaugurated integrating more than 12,000 diamond-shape ASCA modules powering a zero-energy media façade. We expect an exponential growth of architectural projects integrating OPV thereafter.”
The Future of OPV
According to industry leaders, the future of OPV is bright, although there is still much to do.Woxlin noted that Epishine is targeting electronic manufacturers where product development usually takes two to three years, meaning long sales cycles for Epishine.
“When entering the BIPV market, the regulations and requirements will be very high and both sales cycles and market adoption is expected to take even longer,” added Woxlin. “At the same time, we see a rising trend on the market that companies are accelerating the use of environmentally friendly options that could speed up the market.”
Kube noted that OPV initially was of interest in the R&D world, since there was research on, simply because of the advantages and the potential applications.
“The biggest challenge really is to produce at scale and manage the triangle of efficiency, cost and lifetime,” added Kube. “If you are the pioneer, trying to solve that, you can easily imagine it’s a huge challenge, because no one can really help us on that way. The way we overcome it is simply with our team of experts and our network of strong partners and institute. We believe we will get better step by step. It’s nothing that happens over night, but we make good progress.
“But in the common perception, it’s now just starting to gain traction, when real products become available. That is why it’s such an exciting time, to see products slowing coming onto the market and finding its customers and applications. You can imagine, it’s something we are very proud if after years of R&D,” Kube concluded.
The question then becomes as to when OPV will become more common in the marketplace.
“I think in terms of market relevance it’s quite easy to say,” said Kube. “We can produce max 80-100 MW/year and the global PV market its more than 100 GW right now. So, it’s a niche product and the market is simply dominated by silicon PV, which will likely not change. But we believe there is a huge niche we target, and in that niche, I think we can be really successful, because there are still not so many solutions available or if so, not with the combination of lightweight, thin, flexibility and as green as we are.”
“In the indoor light energy harvesting market, we see that OPV will become more and more common during the coming one to five years,” Woxlin noted. “Further, we believe that Epishine will enter the BIPV market with OPV before 2030.”
