The Photovoltaic (PV) market and industry can be broken down into one complete process from the first production steps for metallurgical silicon to the ready turn-key system at the end customer, including all services linked to such systems. There is a need to differentiate the various technologies within the European PV Industry such as crystalline and thin film technology, which differ significantly in the production process.

The value chain for crystalline silicon production and thin film production has been defined with a detailed analysis of the production function of each step.

The value chain for crystalline silicon production is presented as follows:

Value chain: crystalline silicon

1. Solar-Silicon
2. Ingots
3. Wafers
4. Cells
5. Modules
6. PV Systems
7. Installation
8. Operation & Maintenance
9. Demounting
10. Recycling

The value chain for thin film technology is defined as follows:

Value chain: thin film

1. Materials:
   - a-Si
   - CIS
   - CdTe
2. Modules
3. PV Systems
4. Installation
5. Operation & Maintenance
6. Demounting
7. Recycling

Thin-Film (and other) technologies represented around 14% of the Global photovoltaic market in 2008. Their share is expected to increase progressively in the future.

Popularity: 1%

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