Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets has issued a new report examining the market potential for solar cells using organic materials or a hybrid organic/inorganic dye sensitive cell (DSC) approach. 

NanoMarkets says the organic photovoltaics market will generate nearly $US1b in revenues by 2015. The report notes that 2008 will be the first year that organic PV products will be available commercially and that progress in the organic PV sector is being made possible by the substantial venture capital and strategic investments that have been made in this sector in recent years. 

The report also says organic approaches to PV are now being taken seriously as a low-cost solution for mainstream solar panel and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) applications. In the US, this effort is getting federal government backing from the Solar America initiative. 

Meanwhile, the demand for BIPV systems is expanding due to their lower energy usage and reduced overall carbon footprint; especially in the UK and Europe where zero energy buildings are required by legislation. NanoMarkets projects that BIPV will account for $470 million in revenues for the organic PV sector by 2015.

While the conversion efficiencies of commercial PV based on organic materials cannot yet match inorganic approaches (thin film for example), the report says organic solar cells win out on low cost. DSCs are already the lowest cost of all printed PV cells types and “pure” organic approaches to PV promise even more radical price improvements, making organic PV highly attractive for cost sensitive markets such mobile electronics and residential applications.

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