Materials and the growth of PV technology
tent volatility, long nant technology for PV supply, roughly
Supply --- Demand --- Avg Price ---
term there are no 90%. Although Si is currently experiencing
supply concerns. a supply imbalance, which has resulted in
an escalation of price, this is expected to
Gallium be overcome as additional capacity comes
Gallium is extracted online in 2008 and 2009.
from bauxite, which
has no supply Tabbing ribbon
concern. It is used in Typically a Cu cored and solder tinned
applications includ- (pb free or standard Sn/Pb alloys) tab-
ing GaAs devices, bing ribbon is used to interconnect solar
LEDs and solar cells. cells while creating the least amount of
The availability and resistance between them. The key con-
!
hence supply of gal- cerns revolving around tabbing ribbon are
Figure 4. Price history—indium.
lium is only limited availability and quality. Typical lead times
by the capacity of range from two months to as long as four
the indium used today, on an annual basis, existing facilities to increase output. The months. Additionally, from a material
is reclaimed and placed back into the primary driver for investment in increasing quality perspective, achieving a low camber
supply chain. Virgin indium is extracted output is based upon the economies as- value is problematic.
from zinc as direct result of demand. For sociated with its price level. At the time of Custom sputtering targets for CIGS
CIGS, demand is based upon MW output. this writing, gallium is considered to have As CIGS is an emerging technology, it is
For every 1 MW of CIGS based solar cell stable supply in relation to demand. It is common that each company has a unique
production, 60 kgs of indium is consumed. plentiful with possible periods of intermit- approach to developing the absorber layer.
By 2010, this equates to approximately tent volatility. As such, each user has a unique alloy
60 mts, <5% of the total indium demand combination and composition that may
for the same time period. Therefore, the result in forcing the supplier into a ‘trial
FPD market is expected to remain as the and error’ mode of fabrication.
dominant application using indium for
years to come. As this market is consid-
“Short term bottlenecks
Metallization pastes/inks for CIGS
ered more predictable (allowing supply to
exist in the supply of
Very few metallization pastes/inks for
meet demand) versus five years ago when CIGS exist on the market today, in combi-
demand spiked as a result of LCD and
key components. Align-
nation with very few companies operating
plasma displays, meeting demand for all
ment of technology,
in a production mode. This of course
applications, including CIGS solar, is of will change over time. Additionally, each
less concern. Additionally, the continuous
product development
company has a proprietary process that
improvement in reclaim efficiencies and
and capacity roadmaps
inhibits the flow of information relative
cycle times will further ease the necessity to specific process parameters in which
for virgin indium extraction.
between manufacturers
the material must perform. The challenge
To avoid any temporary material supply
and suppliers is critical
becomes hinged with suppliers’ ability to
shortages it is essential that good commu- quickly develop new materials designed for
nication exists relative to forward demand for success.” the unique process environment.
between the users and indium suppliers.
The issue is less about the availability of in- conclusion
dium and more centered on the availability The growth of PV technology and hence
of information (of future demand). Silicon production and capacity is forecasted at
!
Although
!
there may be periods of intermit- Silicon-based technology r
!
emains the domi-
continued on page 36
Figure 5. Indium supply chain. Figure 6. Gallium supply chain.
www.globalsolartechnology.com Global Solar Technology – November/December 2008 – 7
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