Printed & Organic Electronics Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2008-2028

This report includes forecasts of markets by geographical region, component, organics versus inorganic, flexible/conformal and many other parameters. Realistic timescales and the emergence of new products are given, as are impediments and opportunities for the years to come. Statistics for activity in East Asia is given. What will be the split between organic, inorganic and composite solutions by year? It is all here, with activities of over 600 companies listed.

IDTechEx expect the spend on printed and thin film electronics beyond conventional silicon to be $1.58 Billion this year. The majority of this is for OLED display panels ($0.69 Billion) which is the value of the panel and not the final device. Virtually all of this is non printed and on glass. Second largest by value is photovoltaics (PV) beyond conventional crystalline and amorphous silicon, accounting for $0.4 Billion. This is not organic PV however, which is still some time away from commercialization, but inorganic technologies such as CIGS and CdTe devices. For example, First Solar has an order book exceeding $2 Billion for CdTe PV devices which they will be delivering over several years. Third largest is not a specific product, but a value for inks for $0.21 Billion, which are used for multiple different applications such as interconnects for switches, membrane keyboards, windscreen heaters. We give the ink value only here rather than the value of the product because the products are so diverse in scope. Then we have the market for sensors, at $0.11 Billion, which are printed sensors used for glucose meters - approximately 2.2 billion are sold each year. $50 Million will be spend on electroluminescent displays and $48 Million on electrophoretic displays (the value of the front plane of the display itself rather than the end device).

 

On the other hand, we see the market for logic and memory beyond conventional silicon to be just $10 Million this year - and virtually all of that is samples and some services with some commercial sales beginning towards the end of the year from Kovio, PolyIC and PolymerVision, for example.

 

In particular, the following components are addressed, and for each one twenty year forecasts are given, along with companies and their activities, case studies, impediments to commercialization and timescales.

 

Source: IDTechEx

Of all the technologies covered in the $1.58 Billion market, only 27.8% of the components will be predominately printed in 2008, rising to 79.6% in 2018. Similarly, in 2008 only 15.7% of the components are on a non rigid substrate (such as sensors and EL displays), rising to 74% in 2018. The greatest opportunity is for devices which can be printed and are flexible.

 

Source: IDTechEx

If we look at the market size by territory, IDTechEx find that most work is taking place in Europe, the USA and Japan. In many respects Europe is in the lead. For instance, the first printed electronics factories are appearing there. However, we note that the creation of new companies is low given the huge academic effort going on there. The USA is proving better at creating new companies. In East Asia while the number of organizations working on the topic is slightly less than the other two continents, it disguises the fact that those companies tend to be huge conglomerates. By spend, we see that in 2008 56% of the market spend is in East Asia. This is because the biggest component - OLED display modules - are made there and bought by companies making devices, such as MP3 players. However, it disguises the fact that many of the devices are then sold to North America and Europe. Indeed some manufacturing will be moving to East Asia in due course but we also see a higher than expected market in Europe and USA given the dispersed manufacture capability of this new electronics

 

Source: IDTechEx

In assessing the market size over the next few years, this report looks at the big picture - organic electronics and printed inorganics and the majority of devices which are combinations of both. Similarly, while most agree that printing of these electronics and electrics is the end game, many are created today by non printing techniques such as spin coating, and many use combinations of manufacturing techniques, such as inkjet printing and laser ablation. All these manufacturing techniques will be employed to some extent.

 

It is important, therefore to recognise that companies will focus on the end product, its cost, performance and suitability for the application, and if these criteria are met the end user will not be concerned about how it was made or using what materials. We therefore cover printing and non-printing technologies that form a route to products that will be primarily printed in due course.

The report contains a list of over 600 companies and research organizations involved in printed electronics and what aspects they are involved in. No one else has compiled such a comprehensive survey.

The end point for most applications is for the creation of disposable devices on low cost flexible substrates, the most difficult combination to achieve while retaining yield, lifetime and manufacturing ease, but opening up the largest markets, as shown below.

Source: IDTechEx

This is a must-have bible for all those involved in this sector, whether you are a material supplier, printer, device developer or user.

The report is the summation of extensive global research by IDTechEx over several years. IDTechEx has profiled hundreds of companies in this field, and has visited companies and attended relevant events in Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Europe, North America and Canada. Users/potential users have been interviewed. Forecasts have been devised by looking at existing sales and assessing roadmaps to commercialisation taking into account technology and market challenges based on interviews with those in the industry. All stages of the value chain are looked at - and gaps identified and reported. Other important factors are addressed and interpreted in our forecasts, such as key materials running out and progress in East Asia.

The report price also includes free access to the electronic version of the IDTechEx Encyclopedia of Printed Electronics with over 380 definitions and 30 illustrations. This 110 page report is normally sold for $1500.00.

 

In addition, all report purchases include one hour free consulting with a report author from IDTechEx, by email or telephone.

 

In addition, the report (available in PDF or optional printed format) includes an excel spreadsheet of the forecasts for you to download and use.

If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact Corinne Jennings or call + 44 1223 813703.

Dr. Friedrich Eibensteiner, Johannes Kepler University Linz

 

Wolfgang Mildner, Managing Director, PolyIC