NanoMarkets Issues Latest Report on Opportunities for Flexible Glass

GLEN ALLEN, Va., Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets today announced the release of its report titled "Markets for Flexible Glass 2013" that analyzes and quantifies the opportunities for this novel material. NanoMarkets estimates that the market potential for flexible glass will surpass $600 million (USD) in 2017 with OLED displays and lighting becoming major growth factors within the business starting in 2018.  Additional details about the report are available at:

http://nanomarkets.net/market_reports/report/flexible_glass_markets_2013_and_beyondt

About the Report:

Within the report NanoMarkets examines the product development and marketing strategies of the major players in the development and commercialization of flexible glass within the global glass industry. Major glass firms discussed include Corning, Nippon Electric Glass, Schott, Asahi Glass Company. We identify which firms are the "companies to watch" and which will be the likely winners and losers in the rise of flexible glass space.

The report also contains detailed, eight-year forecasts, in area (millions of square meters) and value ($US millions) terms of flexible glass used for both substrates and for encapsulation broken out application. Forecasts are also broken out by device format, i.e. in terms of rigid vs. flexible panels.

Applications covered include:

• LCDs
• OLED displays
• E-Paper displays
• OLED lighting
• Photovoltaic (PV) panels, and
• Sensors (including touch sensors) and other, electronic components.

From the Report:

In the past year, the flexible glass sector has expanded its commercialization efforts, and most of the major glass firms have ramped up activities. Global glass giant Corning officially released its 100 μm-thick Willow Glass – in roll, sheet, and ITO-coated sheet form – in 2012, and is targeting lightweight products in the display sector.  Meanwhile, Asahi Glass, NEG, and Schott have also continued their efforts to commercialize thin, flexible glass products, for applications in displays, touch sensors, and PV panels.

The most immediate selling point for flexible glass is that it has the potential to provide a lighter-weight and lower-cost alternative to rigid glass for the burgeoning mobile communications and computing sectors.  The firm cautions that flexible glass prices today remain quite high and they will need to come down substantially for flexible glass to meet its potential and gain widespread adoption. 

Other findings from the report include:

• The overall flexible glass market is expected to be valued at about $130 million in 2013, and the value is expected to exceed $2.1 billion by the end of the forecast period in 2020.
• The value of flexible glass used in intrinsically flexible devices (flexible displays, flexible solar panels, etc.) is expected to grow from a value of only about $7 million in 2013 to more than $260 million by 2020, or about 13 percent of the total market value.
• OLEDs – both displays and lighting – are expected to be a key growth area for flexible glass, since the material can be used both as a flexible substrate and to provide superior barrier performance.  The market for flexible glass in OLEDs is expected to have a value of about $4 million in 2013, and the value is expected to grow to nearly $700 million by 2020, thereby accounting for about one-third of the total market for flexible glass.

About NanoMarkets:

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in solid-state lighting, energy, electronics and other markets created by developments in advanced materials. The firm is a recognized leader in industry analysis and forecasts of this kind.

Visit http://www.nanomarkets.net for a full listing of NanoMarkets' reports and other services.

SOURCE NanoMarkets