Marketinfoguide

•  Silver’s Big Problem…Economics

How can suppliers of printable silver products maintain margins and market share in a world of persistently high silver prices, with no end in sight?

-investment offtake

-Q411 decline not sustainable

Meanwhile, lingering sluggishness in the global economy keeps industrial demand for silver lower than it might otherwise be

Silver Ink and Pastes Reports  predict a decline in global silver inks and paste consumption

• A Brief History of the Silver Pastes Market

First, look back at the silver inks and pastes market:

This industry has had a very good run over the last 5D years

-Post WWII electronics

-Computer resolution

-C-Si PV

• Why Do Analysts Predict a Decline in the Silver Inks and Pastes Market?

The two big applications still dominate the market, but will face difficulty in the next couple of years

-Problems in the PV sector

-Thick film are cost sensitize

-PDPs are in decline

Alternatives may now have a sustained opportunity to thrive

-High silver prices encourages more substitution away from silver

-is it finally time for alternatives ( copper, aluminum, others) to make a dent?

And

Growth in emerging opportunities not fast enough to make up for losses in PV market or lack of real growth in thick film

• Some Good News Amidst the Gloom

There is no reasonable substitute for silver at this time in most applications

-Legacy applications (printed circuitry, MS, PCB) are growing along

-with global industrialization

-Emerging electronics applications

-Sensors, especially in(bio)medical and ubiquitous electronics

-Flexible electronics and displays

…deserves some skepticism, but may turn into an opportunity

• The Market for Silver Inks and Pastes in PV

2010 was a banner year, with nearly 1.5x growth over prior year

-Not sustainable

-2011 and 2012 back down to ~15% growth

- Recent predictions suggest even lower growth rates,<80%

why?

-Gradual shift in relative share of TFPV compared tv c-Si PV

-Shift in silver consumption in c-5i PV back electrodes and for tabbing

-Government support is waning

• Opportunities for Silver Inks and Pastes in 2012

-Pastes and inks that reduce costs are in demand, and arenecessary to keep out the competition

-Inks and pastes that enable higher resolution printing and miniaturization

-The PV market is looking especially troublesome in the coming years, so diversification into other markets will be necessary

-New applications in displays (?) and lighting

-Sensors and related

These opportunities will take a rethinking of the marketing and business development strategies.

Unique visitors to post: 22

Tags: opportunities, pv, silver ink, silver paste