Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Silver Conductive Inks for Printable Electronics Market to Grow to $1.2 Billion by 2014

Home > Press > Silver Conductive Inks for Printable Electronics Market to Grow to $1.2 Billion by 2014

Abstract:
According to a new report from
NanoMarkets, a leading industry analyst firm based here, the market for
silver conductive inks is expected to reach $1.2 billion ($US) by 2014,
compared with $176 million in 2007. Details about the firm's latest report
are available at http://www.nanomarkets.net . Members of the press may
request an executive summary by emailing . The firm
will be hosting a teleconference on Wednesday, June 13th to present
findings from the new report. Interested persons can register on the
NanoMarkets website.

Silver Conductive Inks for Printable Electronics Market to Grow to $1.2 Billion by 2014

GLEN ALLEN, VA | Posted on May 29th, 2007

Key findings from the report include:

-- Nanoparticulate silver inks promise to lower the costs of printed
electronics by reducing the need for high-temperature processing and
enabling less material to be used. Because lower temperatures are
needed to cure nanoinks they are also more suitable for use on flexible
substrates that typically use thermally sensitive plastics. According
to NanoMarkets, the market for silver "nanoinks" is expected to reach
$844 million by 2014.

-- At present 95 percent of the silver conductive ink market is
represented by traditional "thick-film" applications in which screen
printing is used in the creation of PCBs, automobile heaters, EMI
shielding and membrane switches. By 2014, such applications will have
fallen to just over 20 percent of the silver ink market with the now-
negligible RFID sector accounting for more than 30 percent of the
market. Silver is the material of choice for RFID antennas and
printing RFID tags is seen as the most likely way to reduce their costs
to a point where such tags can be widely used on cost sensitive items
such as food packages.

-- In the past, silver conductive inks have been strongly associated with
screen printing, but because ink-jet printing offers lower material
wastage and creates finer features, it is likely to be used more with
silver inks in the future. This will create an opportunity for ink
makers to design new silver inks that are viscous enough to create
individual droplets but also able to flow through the print head. By
2014, ink-jet silver inks are expected to reach $404 million. And, as
volumes in the printable electronics market ramp up there will also be
a need for more use of flexo and gravure inks, which are expected to
reach $398 million by 2014.

-- NanoMarkets predicts that there will be more investments in smaller
materials and ink manufacturers by larger specialty chemical and
materials companies looking to enter the business through partnerships
or controllable IP. The firm points to investments by companies such
as National Starch, Air Products and ChevronTexaco as recent examples
and goes on to say acquisitions will likely be seen in the near term
future as well.

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About NanoMarkets
NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities created
by developments in advanced materials. The firm has published numerous
reports related to organic, thin film and printable electronics materials
and applications. The firm also publishes a blog found at
http://www.nanotopblog.com .

About the Report:
The new NanoMarkets report, "Silver powders and Inks for Printable
Electronics: 2007-2014" forecasts major markets for conductive silver inks
in emerging applications such as displays, backplanes, RFID, photovoltaics,
lighting, disposable electronics, memory sensors and traditional thick film
applications. The report discusses the strategies of leading suppliers and
technology developers including Advanced Nano Products, Cabot, Cima
NanoTech, Creative Materials, DuPont, Ferro, Five Star Technologies, Harima
Chemical, NanoDynamics, NanoGram NanoMas, National Starch (Acheson and
Xink), NovaCentrix, Parelec, PChem and Sun Chemical. This report builds
upon the firm's ongoing coverage of the printable electronics applications
and materials.