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









