a question; certainly in the short term it’s in the development phase—it’s not really in the full commercialization phase.”
Lux reported that despite Konarka’s progress in finding partners and Solarmer’s success in setting efficiency records, there are no clear leaders in the organic photovoltaic market. While organic solar cells have potential in the building materials and consumer electronics industries, the research firm says that no definite market for the materials has been established. And there are large corporations such as Toray Industries, Sharp Electronics, and Samsung that have begun developing organic photovoltaics, making the destinies of smaller firms like Konarka even tougher to predict. “When you finally get to the real commercialization of OPVs—if that happens—the [companies] that are putting out those products may not be the ones that you hear about today,” Schmitdke said.
At Konarka, the focus is on ramping up commercialization of the firm’s solar plastic more than worrying about potential competition from large corporations, according to Therese Jordan, the company’s vice president of business development. This year Konarka has begun shipping organic photovoltaics to customers such as Germany-based Neuber, which is making handbags that use the materials for recharging portable devices like MP3 players, and SkyShades, a Longwood, FL, firm that integrates the materials into umbrellas used for patio and café tables. Other new partners such as Enviromena and Florida-based Arch Aluminum & Glass Company haven’t yet started commercializing products made with the solar plastic.
Jordan said that while near-term demand will come from solar-recharging applications such as the Neuber handbag, Konarka’s materials will turn up within three to five years on shade structures, carports, and glass for buildings. (Part of the advantage of the firm’s organic photovoltaics, she said, is that they can generate electricity from natural or indoor lighting as well as from indirect and low-light sources.)
On the R&D front, Konarka is pursuing both internal efforts and external collaborations to improve the durability and efficiency of its materials. The University of Massachusetts and academics at German research institutions are among its partners.
To be clear, Konarka and its fellow developers of organic PV cells aren’t the only players in the solar market with major challenges ahead. Reduced demand for solar cells over the past year and a glut of supply have driven down prices for PV modules by about 40 percent, according to Lux. Spain and Germany have cut government subsidies for purchasing solar technology. In Massachusetts, the down market for solar cells has spelled trouble for Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ESLR]]), a maker of crystalline silicon PV modules, according to recent newspaper reports.
It’s tough to tell where Konarka stands financially, since the private company does not disclose financial information such as sales and its available cash. But Konarka’s Jordan hinted that commercial success could be just around the corner. “Watch us in the next two years,” she said, noting that the company has been expanding its business development efforts globally and plans to continue to add commercialization partners. “2010 and 2011 are going to be big years for us.”
