REPORT SUMMARY

http://www.innoresearch.net/report_summary.aspx?id=76&pg=97&rcd=EN-106&pd=11/1/2010 

The thin-film battery (TFB) market is an attractive and still-growing multimillion dollar market characterized by very high production volumes of thin-film batteries that must be extremely reliable and low in cost.  Thin-film lithium and lithium-ion batteries are ideally suited for a variety of applications where small power sources are needed. By using the available space within a device, the battery can provide the required power while occupying otherwise wasted space and adding negligible mass.

Three very distinct types of flexible TFB technologies exist – lower performance printed TFBs, single-use higher performance lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries, and solid-state rechargeable lithium phosphorous oxynitride (LiPON) batteries (which are the most expensive). Currently, non-rechargeable zinc batteries can be fully printed and used in roll-to-roll manufacturing processes.

The range of possible applications for these batteries derives from their important advantages over conventional battery technologies. They can be made in virtually any shape and size to meet the requirements of an application.  The batteries are rechargeable, which means their size need be no larger than is required to satisfy the energy requirements on a single cycle, thus reducing cost and weight, which in itself may give birth to new applications.

Up until now, various power factors have impinged on the advancement and development of microdevices. Power density, cell weight, battery life and form factor all have proven significant and cumbersome when considered for microapplications. Batteries of the future will need to be miniaturized, untethered, and portable.

The Summary Table and Summary Figure below project market trends for thin-film batteries according to region. The global market for thin-film batteries is expected to reach $90million in 2010. This market will increase to $600million by 2015 with a growth rate of 46.1% annually for the next five year.

Other major findings of this report are:

• The range for the average annual growth rate (AAGR) is expected to be 37.9% to 67.8% for the six major regions surveyed for the period 2010 to 2015. 

• Regionally, North America is expected to capture about 40% of the market in 2010, followed by Europe at 36% and the rest of the world (ROW) at 24%, dominated by Japan, Korea and China.

• The market for thin-film batteries used in one-time password (OTP), display-type smart cards for banking will be highest in 2010.

• Disposable medical cosmetic patches, electronic games and entertainment devices, music greeting cards using non-rechargeable thin printed battery (zinc-manganese chemistry), low power semi-active tags used with sensors, and battery-assisted passive (BAP) radio frequency identification (RFID) devices will have a combined market share of over one-third of  the total market in 2010.

• Ultra-low power energy harvesting devices (solar, thermal, vibration) using rechargeable lithium-ion or similar type batteries will be a distant third in 2010 and will slightly increase its share by 2015.

• The main factor slowing growth of the market for thin-film/printed batteries at present is high cost. Thin-film/printable batteries are currently unable to compete with conventional battery technology on price. This will change as volumes for thin-film/printed batteries ramp up and technology improves.

• Among the three technologies covered in this report, in 2010 the market share for non-rechargeable thin zinc-manganese printed batteries is the highest followed by lithium polymer thin-film non-rechargeable battery technology and rechargeable thin-film lithium-ion batteries as a distant third.