Photovoltaic film performance requirements are upgraded, and the market space for co-extruded POE film (EPE) is increasing

Co-extruded POE film (EPE) is a three-layer composite of EVA film-POE film-EVA film made using a co-extrusion process. Its performance is between EVA film and POE film. It is a photovoltaic film. It is used in the packaging process of photovoltaic modules. It is used between tempered glass-battery-backsheet to play a buffering and protective role. It is one of the key materials of photovoltaic modules.

Photovoltaic film mainly includes two categories: EVA film and POE film. Among them, EVA film includes transparent EVA film, white EVA film, etc., and POE film includes cross-linked POE film and co-extruded POE film. Adhesive film, white POE film, etc. At present, transparent EVA film is the mainstream photovoltaic film product in my country, with a market share of 51.8% in 2021. However, the performance of transparent EVA film is poor and cannot meet the requirements of photovoltaic modules to improve power generation efficiency. POE film has excellent performance and can be used as a substitute for transparent EVA film, but its price is high.

As a composite adhesive film, EPE’s water resistance, weather resistance, and ultraviolet resistance are weaker than those of POE adhesive film, but it has the advantages of good PID resistance of POE adhesive film, and the advantages of transparent EVA adhesive film such as no slipping, fewer bubbles, and high yield. The light transmittance is better, the performance is better than that of transparent EVA film, and the price is lower than POE film. In the context of the increasing market requirements for photovoltaic module power generation efficiency, its market has developed rapidly.

According to the “2022-2026 Co-extruded POE Film (EPE) Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report” released by the Industrial Research Center shows that at present, my country’s high-performance photovoltaic films are mainly white EVA films, POE films, and cross-linked POE films. The market share of these three major photovoltaic films continues to increase, and the total market share in 2021 will account for The market share of extruded transparent EVA film continues to shrink. In 2021, the global POE film + EPE market size will be approximately 5.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26%. It can be seen from this that the development space of EPE is increasing in my country and the global photovoltaic film market.

The scale of global photovoltaic power generation installations continues to expand, and China is the largest market. According to data from the National Energy Administration, China’s newly installed photovoltaic capacity will be 54.88 million kilowatts in 2021. Against this background, global demand for photovoltaic films continues to rise. Traditional transparent EVA film cannot meet the demand for photovoltaic power generation upgrades. At the same time, its price is low and profit margins are limited. Therefore, powerful photovoltaic film companies are vigorously deploying high-performance photovoltaic film products, and EPE has attracted attention.

Industry analysts said that in the global photovoltaic film market, my country’s Foster, Swick, and Haiyou New Materials are at the top Monopoly position, from the perspective of the EPE market segment, Foster POE film has strong competitiveness, a large share of the Chinese market, and can supply EPE in batches. In addition to Foster, my country also has Saiwu Technology, which has POE film production capabilities and can supply EPE products. In the short term, the upgrading trend of photovoltaic film is obvious. The space for price reduction of POE film is limited, and EPE has a large space for development. If the cost of POE film continues to decline in the future, the EPE market space will shrink.