Global Market Size, Forecast, and Trend Highlights Over 2025-2037
Organic Solar Cells Market size was USD 227.74 million in 2024 and is estimated to reach USD 3.39 billion by the end of 2037, expanding at a CAGR of 23.1% during the forecast period, i.e., 2025-2037. In 2025, the industry size of organic solar cells is assessed at USD 280.35 million.
Organic solar cells are growing due to the rising demand for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) products, bringing functionality to a building, which is driving growth in the organic solar cells market. Buildings that employ this technology become energy producers rather than consumers. BIPVs shield buildings from noise and weather. In addition, they provide thermal insulation. BIPVs do not require brackets and rails, this technique lowers the overall cost of installation and building materials. Their popularity has been steadily increasing since architects and designers employ BIPV products creatively, while producers create new goods to satisfy the growing organic solar cells market.
The organic solar cells industry can offer renewable energy solutions with benefits, including lightweight, flexibility, and the possibility of reduced production costs. Nevertheless, the organic solar cells sector is still researching and developing solutions for problems, including reduced efficiency in comparison to conventional silicon-based solar cells and stability problems in a range of environmental conditions. As a third-generation solar cell, organic solar cells (OSCs) use organic polymer material as the light-absorbing layer. They are among the newest innovations in photovoltaics (PV). Organic solar cells aim to provide a photovoltaic (PV) solution that uses less energy and is abundant in the soil.
For the next ten years, solar energy experts stress the significance of sustaining an annual global increase in photovoltaic (PV) capacity of at least 25%. By 2050, such an increase is necessary to achieve a global energy system that is climate-neutral. It is projected that more than 75 terawatts of solar power must be installed globally by 2050 to meet the carbon emission reduction targets.
Organic Solar Cells Market: Growth Drivers and Challenges
Growth Drivers
- Increasing collaboration in technology development: Government, corporate, and academic parties are increasingly forming partnerships and working together to support innovation and organic solar cells market. Through cooperative research collaborations, technology transfer agreements, and strategic alliances, organic solar cells technology can be developed and rendered commercially viable more rapidly, opening up new opportunities for organic solar cells market extension and segmentation. Furthermore, working together with downstream industries and end users can assist in locating precise application needs and outgrowth product development to satisfy consumer demand.
Through high-value joint research and development partnerships and licensing, NREL provides significant businesses with access to technology advancements. ConocoPhillips' new absorber materials for organic photovoltaic systems, Plextronics' contact development and lifetime of organic solar cells , TDA Research's multicomponent systems for infrared absorption, Luna Innovations' carbon nanosheet electrodes for organic solar cells , Konarka, TOTAL, Solarmer, Department of Defense, and others are a few instances of previous and ongoing industrial collaborations. - Growing government programs and policies that promote growth: Government programs and regulations that encourage the use of renewable energy are fueling the organic solar cells market's expansion. Numerous nations have enacted feed-in tariffs, tax breaks, subsidies, and renewable energy objectives to promote investment in solar power generation. Several regions are creating strategies to transition to ultra-low-energy buildings to solve the different climate change-related concerns.
The EU's ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent in history by 2050 depends on buildings, which use the most energy on the continent. The EU has made it mandatory for all new construction to have nearly-zero energy buildings. This will be replaced with more stringent zero-emission building conditions by 2028 for new public buildings and in 2030 for all other new structures. In 2030, nearly-zero energy buildings will be replaced with zero-emission buildings as the new building requirement. - Emergence of transparent and adaptable organic solar cells modules: Flexible and transparent organic solar cells modules are becoming more and more popular in the industry due to recent developments in materials science and production processes. The extent of uses for organic solar cells technology can be increased by integrating these modules into windows, curved surfaces, and even wearable electronics. Due to its adaptability and design flexibility, flexible and transparent organic solar cells modules are appealing for use in consumer products, automotive, and portable electronics applications.
Ultra-flexible organic solar cells (OPVs) are lightweight, transparent, and flexible, making them attractive options for next-generation power sources.The ultra-flexible, strain-durable, semitransparent organic solar cells have a thickness of less than 2 μm.The nanoscale thin metal electrodes (less than 10 nm) have conformal surface coverage, which leads to great strain durability and very low flexural rigidity.
Challenges
- High setup cost in organic solar cells systems: Building-integrated photovoltaic systems have been developed with a significant emphasis on speeding up the deployment of solar electric systems, including organic photovoltaic systems. This contributes to the higher integration of design pre-implementation costs. This turns out to be a major source of organic solar cells market restraint. Comparing organic solar cells technology to traditional solar technologies, the initial expenses, including materials, manufacturing equipment, and research and development, might be substantially higher. Furthermore, organic solar cells manufacturers face considerable difficulties in increasing production to commercial levels while preserving cost-effectiveness and quality control. It will need significant investment, teamwork, and creativity throughout the value chain to overcome these obstacles.
- Inefficient in comparison to solar cells based on silicon: One of the key challenges confronting the organic solar cells market is the reduced efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells as compared to standard silicon-based solar cells. While organic solar cells technology has advanced significantly in recent years, its efficiency remains lower than that of silicon-based solar cells. This performance gap hinders organic solar cells technology's competitiveness in some applications, particularly large-scale solar power plants where efficiency is important for economic viability. The biggest impediment to the technology's commercialization is its comparatively low power conversion efficiency as compared to inorganic silicon solar cells.
Organic Solar Cells Market: Key Insights
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Base Year |
2024 |
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Forecast Year |
2025-2037 |
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CAGR |
23.1% |
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Base Year Market Size (2024) |
USD 227.74 million |
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Forecast Year Market Size (2037) |
USD 3.39 billion |
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Regional Scope |
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Organic Solar Cells Segmentation
Type (Dye-sensitized Nano Crystalline Solar Cells, PN Junction Structure)
Dye-sensitized nano crystalline solar cells segment is likely to account for more than 55.7% organic solar cells market share by the end of 2037. These dye-sensitized nano crystalline solar cells are a popular option for a variety of applications due to their affordability and respectable efficiency levels. Due to its advancements in materials science, device design, and manufacturing processes, organic solar cells are now more competitive with traditional solar cells due to their increased efficiency and longer lifespans.
However, despite the dominance of dye-sensitized nano crystalline solar cells, PN junction structures are also growing. These structures are becoming more and more popular as they are more stable and efficient than dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells.
Both segments are projected to keep expanding and innovating in the future. Due to its affordability and adaptability, dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells are probably going to continue to dominate the organic solar cells market. However, as technological developments result in improved performance and dependability, PN Junction Structure is expected to gain traction.
Application (Building-integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV), Portable Electronics, Defense Application, Conventional Solar, Others)
Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) is expected to expand at a significant organic solar cells market share. The capacity of BIPV systems to smoothly incorporate solar panels into building structures, offering both energy generation and architectural advantages, has led to their increasing popularity. The growing need for sustainable building solutions and government programs encouraging the incorporation of renewable energy sources.
On the other hand, the portable electronics segment, with a substantial proportion, is also growing. The lightweight and flexible characteristics of organic solar cells technology make it ideal for portable electronic devices, including wearable technology, tablets, and smartphones.
Furthermore, a significant amount of the organic solar cells business was made up of defense applications. organic solar cells technology is being used more in the defense industry for applications including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and portable power production for soldiers in remote areas. Despite being a smaller organic solar cells market category, conventional solar applications maintained a significant market share. To increase efficiency and lower costs, organic solar cells technology is being incorporated into conventional solar arrays.
Our in-depth analysis of the global organic solar cells market includes the following segments:
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Type |
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Application |
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Customize this ReportOrganic Solar Cells Industry - Regional Synopsis
North America Market Statistics
North America organic solar cells market is predicted to capture revenue share of over 36.7% by 2037. The industry is mostly driven by investments and technological advancements, particularly in fields such as aerospace and the military. Big companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which encourage large investments in renewable energy solutions, including organic solar cells technology, further stimulate the North America industry.
The U.S. leads from the forefront since people are becoming more conscious of the characteristics of organic solar cell goods. Beyond aerospace and defense, organic solar cells is used in a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and agriculture. The low efficiencies of organic solar cells are related to their small exciton diffusion lengths and low carrier mobilities. These two characteristics ultimately result in the use of thin active layers that affect overall device performance. Furthermore, the operational lifetime of organic solar cells modules remains significantly lower than for inorganic devices.
On the other side, in Canada, the growing need for creative technological developments and sustainable energy solutions is reflected in these sectors' embrace of organic solar cells technology. The goal of current research is to extend the lifespan and efficiency of devices. Enhancing the absorber material has already resulted in significant efficiency gains, and research is underway to further optimize the absorbers and create organic multijunction designs. Alternative contact materials and better encapsulation are being researched to slow down cell deterioration and extend cell lives to levels that are meaningful to the industry.
Asia Pacific Market Analysis
Asia Pacific organic solar cells market is undergoing significant transformation, with accelerated growth primarily due to increasing research and development. The region's focus on organic solar cells and other renewable energy technology development fuels optimism that the Asia Pacific market will expand vividly over the projected time frame. As a result of the expanding technology for organic solar cell (OPV) products and the growing demand for organic solar cells in both the commercial and residential markets.
In India, the integration of third-generation solar cell technologies with flexible and conformal surfaces holds great promise. Researchers at IIT Kanpur created organic solar cell devices using a combination of organic polymer PTB7 as a donor and PCBM as an acceptor. The devices were built on opaque steel substrates and had a MoO3/Au/MoO3 top electrode. The research at IIT Kanpur demonstrated the integration of multi-layered electrodes in the MoO3/Au/MoO3 arrangement with organic solar cells. These electrodes have greater optical transmission than metallic electrodes. The devices with multilayer electrodes demonstrated a 1.5-fold improvement in photovoltaic performance when compared to those with single-layer top metal electrodes of gold.
In China, the growing emphasis on improving renewable energy technologies, especially organic solar cells, drives hope for major organic solar cells market expansion. In August 2024, researchers at Wuhan University of Technology in China devised and produced a novel non-fullerene acceptor for organic solar cells. One of their manufactured devices had the greatest certified efficiency ever recorded for single-junction organic solar cells. The scientists created and synthesized L8-ThCl, a new non-fullerene acceptor that will serve as the third component in conjunction with a PM6: L8-BO host system. They claim that adding L8-ThCl helped to expand and define the nanofibrils of polymer donors.
Companies Dominating the Organic Solar Cells Market
- Merck KGaA
- Company Overview
- Business Strategy
- Key Product Offerings
- Financial Performance
- Key Performance Indicators
- Risk Analysis
- Recent Development
- Regional Presence
- SWOT Analysis
- Heliatek GmbH
- BELECTRIC GmbH
- ARMOR
- Heraeus Group
- SUNEW
- Solarmer Energy, Inc.
- DisaSolar
- InfinityPV
- Eight19
- ENI
Leading organic solar cells firms are actively engaged in research and development to innovate and introduce new products to preserve a competitive advantage. The majority of the top firms are well-known for their organic photovoltaic technology competence as well as large research and development investments. Long-term growth plans for the organic solar cells market include investment, production, expansion, distribution agreements, collaborations, new establishments, mergers, and acquisitions.
In the News
- In September 2024, NextGen Nano, a high-tech firm based in the U.K., invented organic solar cell technology that can replace the inflexible, opaque silicon substrates present in conventional solar panels with thin, lightweight, and tunable fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO). With technological advancements, organic solar cells can now be utilized on practically any surface, including windows, walls, automobile roofs, and even portable gadgets.
- In April 2022, ARMOR Group, the global leader in organic solar cells (OPV), collaborated with Epishine, a significant player in the development and production of printed organic solar cells that are currently focused on indoor OPV, to strengthen and expand the global OPV industry.
Author Credits: Dhruv Bhatia
- Report ID: 3513
- Published Date: Apr 08, 2025
- Report Format: PDF, PPT
