Commercialization of Novel Organic Solar Cells Master of Engineering Final Report Shanel C. Miller 4/10/2012 Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sam Kassegne (Chairman) Dr. Fletcher Miller (Committee Member) Dr. Congcong Zheng (Committee Member) Fellowship awarded by: William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement and U.S. Department of Energy Table of Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 5 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 5 1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.3 Mission ................................................................................................................................ 11 2. Device Technology ................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 How do Solar Cells Work?.................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Types of Solar Cells that Exist Today ................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Silicon Photovoltaic Technology.................................................................................. 13 2.2.2 Thin-film Photovoltaic Technology ............................................................................. 14 2.2.3 Organic Photovoltaic Technology ................................................................................ 16 2.2.4 Conversion Efficiencies for the Various Thin-Film PV Technologies ........................ 18 2.3 Novel 3D Organic Solar Cells ............................................................................................. 21 2.4 Intellectual Property ............................................................................................................ 26 3. Manufacturing Process for 3D Organic Solar Cells ................................................................. 28 3.1 Original Clean Room Process ............................................................................................. 28 3.2 New Roll-to-roll Process: SolarMator I .............................................................................. 31 3.2.1 PET Stamping ............................................................................................................... 32 3.2.2 Anode and Photoactive Material Deposition ................................................................ 37 3.2.3 Annealing Chambers .................................................................................................... 41 3.2.4 Insulation and Access Doors ........................................................................................ 41 3.2.5 Exhaust System and Auxiliary Ports ............................................................................ 42 3.3 Time and Equipment Comparison of Clean Room and Roll-to-roll Processes................... 44 3.4 Cost and Energy Usage Comparison for Clean Room and Roll-to-roll Processes ............. 46 3.5 Second Generation Production Line – SolarMator II.......................................................... 49 3.6 Scale-up Progress and Goals ............................................................................................... 50 3.7 Packaging Progress ............................................................................................................. 51 4. Market Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 55 S. Miller Page 2 4.1 Macro Market – Photovoltaic Market ................................................................................. 55 4.2 Micro Market – Thin-Film market ...................................................................................... 58 4.3 Target Market – Segmentation ............................................................................................ 60 4.3.1 Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Market ....................................................... 61 4.3.2 Off-grid Market ............................................................................................................ 63 4.4 Trends .................................................................................................................................. 65 4.4.1 Government Influence .................................................................................................. 66 4.4.2 Cost of Conventional Energy Resources ...................................................................... 68 4.4.3 Cost and Availability of Conventional PV Materials ................................................... 70 5. Industry Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 72 5.1 PV Value Chain ................................................................................................................... 72 5.2 Macro Industry – Competition ............................................................................................ 72 5.2.1 Global Solar and Nanosolar –CIGS (United States) .................................................... 74 5.2.2 First Solar – CdTe (United States) ............................................................................... 75 5.3 Micro Industry - Competition ............................................................................................. 78 5.3.1 Konarka Technologies, Inc. – OPV (United States) ..................................................... 78 5.3.2 Heliatek – OPV (Germany) .......................................................................................... 82 5.3.3 Solarmer Energy, Inc. – OPV (United States) .............................................................. 85 5.3.4 Eight19 – OPV (United Kingdom) ............................................................................... 87 5.3.5 The University of California at Los Angeles ................................................................ 90 5.4 Porter’s Five Forces ............................................................................................................ 92 5.4.1 Rivalry among Existing Competitors ........................................................................... 92 5.4.2 Threat of New Entrants ................................................................................................. 93 5.4.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers ..................................................................................... 94 5.4.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers......................................................................................... 96 5.4.5 Threat of Substitute Products or Services ..................................................................... 96 5.5 SWOT Analysis................................................................................................................... 98 5.5.1 Strengths ....................................................................................................................... 98 5.5.2 Weaknesses ................................................................................................................... 99 5.5.3 Opportunities ................................................................................................................ 99 5.5.4 Threats ........................................................................................................................ 100 S. Miller Page 3 6. Recommended Steps to Take Towards Commercialization in Future .................................... 102 6.1 Improve Efficiency and Lifespan of OSC ......................................................................... 102 6.2 Obtain Certifications and Meet Standards ........................................................................ 103 6.3 Expand the Team ............................................................................................................... 104 6.4 Pursue more Funding ........................................................................................................ 104 6.5 Obtain Additional Intellectual Property ............................................................................ 105 6.6 Third Generation Production Line – SolarMator III ......................................................... 105 7. Value Proposition.................................................................................................................... 106 7.1 Competitive Edge, Differentiation .................................................................................... 106 7.2 Positioning Statement ........................................................................................................ 106 7.3 Marketing Strategy ............................................................................................................ 106 7.4 Pricing Strategy ................................................................................................................