Global Solar Photovoltaic Backsheet Market Constrained by Pricing

Monday 10 March 2014, Amsterdam

Asia-Pacific was the largest solar Photovoltaic (PV) backsheet market in the world, accounting for more than a third of global solar PV backsheet installations, in 2013. The global solar PV backsheet market is being driven by the increased financial incentives provided by federal and state governments for the solar PV industry. Reduced production costs, together with technological advances and favorable government policies, have made the most substantial contribution to the expansion of the sector. In addition, the R&D initiatives taken up by various research institutes have led to the growth of installed capacity. The value of the global solar PV backsheet market has been increasing year by year, from $517m in 2008 to $1.3 billion in 2013. The market is expected to reach a peak value of $1.56 billion in 2014 before declining to around $1 billion in 2020 due to decreasing solar PV backsheet prices.


Asia-Pacific Continues to be Solar Photovoltaic Backsheet Manufacturing Hub

China is one of the key backsheet manufacturers in the world, with more than 15 backsheet manufacturers and exports to countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific such as Germany, Spain, Italy, the US and Australia. The growth of the solar PV backsheet market in China is promising, with the government setting ambitious targets for the development of solar PV in the country. A number of major Chinese backsheet manufacturers, including Jolywood Solar, Jiangsu Huitong and Hangzhou Sunhome, have plans to scale up their backsheet capacity in order to meet the increasing demand and also to compete with foreign backsheet manufacturers in local markets. Foreign players such as Coveme, Krempel, Isovoltaic and Dunmore are flooding the Chinese PV market with popular backsheet models, as China is a major hub of module manufacture. The value of the PV backsheet market in China is expected to reach $492 million in 2020, increasing at a forecast Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.6% between 2013 and 2020.

Japan has one of the largest manufacturing bases for PV backsheets in Asia-Pacific. In addition to meeting domestic demand, the country exports backsheets to leading module manufacturers worldwide. Japanese backsheet manufacturers such as Toyo Aluminium and Mitsubishi Plastics export backsheets to countries such as the US, China and Austria.


New Backsheet Materials Lead to Decreased Backsheet Prices

he use of Tedlar-based backsheets is decreasing with the penetration of new materials in the market. Companies using Tedlar products are losing market share to other firms producing new fluoro and non-fluoro backsheet products. Some manufacturers offer Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) composite layers. PET is also used as a core layer in Tedlar backsheets, due to its electrical insulation properties, and with other fluoro and non-fluoro polymers. Tedlar’s loss of its former market position has meant that other backsheets such as Kynar, Ethylene Chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECfFE), fluoropolymer and Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE) gained market acceptance.  

A number of other backsheet types were also introduced during this period. Non-Tedlar backsheet companies are planning to increase their market share by encouraging further acceptance of their products in the market. The average global PV backsheet price in 2013 was $5.21 per square meter (m2). Prices are expected to fall further in future with the introduction of new materials and manufacturing methods. It is expected that, by 2020, the global average backsheet price is expected to be $3.65/m2, decreasing by around a third compared with present costs.