PV technology has been paired with small electronic devices for decades, most notably in calculators. What's new here is the emergence of alternative PV technologies -- organic PV (OPV), dye-sensitized (DSC), and thin-film variants such as CIGS -- promising not only those specific capabilities, but also potentially produced in large volumes using low-cost manufacturing processes. Many within these PV sectors are developing the technology with an eye toward building-integrated PV (BIPV), but strict performance and lifetime requirements mean this is still some ways off. Consumer electronics, on the other hand, presents an alluring easier target with opportunities right now, and potentially massive addressable volumes.

1. n-tech Research Article
Evaluating Opportunities for Solar PV in Mobile
Electronic Devices
November 2015
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Evaluating Opportunities for Solar PV in Mobile Electronic Devices
Today's consumer electronics devices merge multiple device functionalities into a single
must-have, high-priced item. Beyond simply making a phone call, various
communications, apps, and gaming functions place heavy demands on a device's power
usage.
In response, OEMs are adding ever-denser batteries and constantly improving product
designs. They're also scouring the landscape for other options that could help bump up
battery life and/or streamline battery needs -- and differentiate their products in a very
crowded marketplace. Thus, many companies are turning their attention to solar energy
harvesting, especially for wireless charging.
Among the advantages of using solar sources: meaningful amounts of energy can be
generated from tiny surface areas, the technology works well in both outdoor and indoor
lighting conditions, and thin/flexible cells can seamlessly integrate onto curved surfaces.
Smartphone display sizes also continue to get bigger, which means more surface area
and thus more potential solar PV output.
Of course PV technology has been paired with small electronic devices for decades, most
notably in calculators. What's new here is the emergence of alternative PV technologies
-- organic PV (OPV), dye-sensitized (DSC), and thin-film variants such as CIGS --
promising not only those specific capabilities, but also potentially produced in large
volumes using low-cost manufacturing processes.
Many within these PV sectors are developing the technology with an eye toward building-
integrated PV (BIPV), but strict performance and lifetime requirements mean this is still
some ways off. Consumer electronics, on the other hand, presents an alluring easier
target with opportunities right now, and potentially massive addressable volumes.
Recent Progress in Smartphones and Solar
Various device OEMs have dabbled in solar cells for years, but in the past year or so
we've seen expanded efforts from consumer device OEMs with solar-powered phone
offerings, as outlined in the exhibit below. Again, the aim is to extend battery life or provide
enough juice for a short emergency phone call.

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Recent Solar Smartphone Announcements
Company Year Achievement Our Take
Kyocera 2015
Torque prototype with
transparent solar panel within the
touchscreen
Example of major phone vendor
with seemingly prime-time ready
device
Google/ Yezz 2015
Project Ara modular phone
design, one add-on concept is a
solar array
Modular phone concept is
attractive; removes barriers to
entry for hardware makers; still at
least a year from testing
Apple 2015
Patent for solar cell embedded in
a mobile device
Vague description, but Apple's
design ideas are vastly influential
Alcatel
OneTouch
2014
M'Pop prototype smartphone
with Wysips solar layer
embedded in the touchscreen
A lower-end device, but could be
attractive to developing markets
Source: n-tech Research
What n-tech is seeing now is an evolution from simply mounting solar cells onto a mobile
device's case to integrating them directly in the touchscreen layer -- Kyocera and Alcatel
both are implementing SunPartner's Wysips technology for this purpose. We expect more
examples to come, especially as materials suppliers further improve efficiency and
integration of optically clear PV layers.
Also worth noting is Apple's June 2015 U.S. patent grant for an undefined solar panel
technology hidden beneath touch-sensitive surfaces, an extension to already-used
dedicated ambient light sensors. Apple has a history of obtaining vast amounts of patents
-- including more than a dozen solar power-related ones -- but this news has spurred
speculation that such a solar-embedded feature might be part of an anticipated iPhone 7
hardware redesign.
Solar Chargers for Mobile Devices
 Aside from direct integration into a mobile device, any product that uses (or could
use) power without being tethered to a power outlet, or would/could incorporate
power charging, is in play. Indeed, there have been demonstration products for
years in a range of power charging formats, backpacks to umbrellas to canopies.
These can be fulfilled by a range of PV technologies, but OPV, DSC and thin-film
CIGS all have made inroads:

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• Alcatel and Avenir are designing device covers also using Wysips
technology; one Alcatel case is clear to allow recharging even during
phone use (or double the charging when folded open)
• Eight19 is pushing OPV for energy harvesting in off-grid contexts, with
examples including solar lamps and portable power sources. It has
marketed "pay as you go" home solar energy/lighting/charging systems
initially in Africa
• CSEM Brazil is exploring off-grid charging for low-power mobile
applications, from phones to wireless sensors
• G24 Power has incorporated thin-film DSCs into integrated portable
chargers that can power MP3 players and smartphones
• Samsung SDI and Sony both have developed DSC-enabled mobile
device chargers
• Global Solar (now Hanergy-owned) has offered CIGS-based portable,
flexible chargers that fold for storage or unfold to provide a larger module
area
• Ascent Solar exited the large CIGS module market to focus exclusively
on portable charging solutions.
• BASF has shown a prototype of a cell-phone charger using a small OPV
array
Other Gadgets: Keyboards, Wearables, and Lights
There are several other specific products that have received attention from the solar PV
community as possible markets.
Keyboards: These are becoming quite common, enabling increased freedom of use, no
restrictions from trailing wire, and no need to replace batteries. Subject to modest hours
of use, these keyboards have been reported to function for two years without any
additional power inputs.
Alternative PV technologies, especially DSC, make particular sense here as they can
operate in dim light. Such wireless keyboards were introduced for Apple’s iPads in 2012,
with G24’s DSC cells integrated into a case housing a Logitech keyboard. More recently
(August 2015) G24 inked a similar deal with Ingram Micro, and the firm pledges further
tablet accessories over the next few months.

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Watches: Solar-powered watches have been around for a while too. However, watches
also aren't always exposed to sunlight: they're hidden under shirtsleeves, or worn indoors
under artificial light and at night. Moreover, smart watches run into the same screen
problem as phones: a transparent touchscreen will be far less effective at solar energy
harvesting, and semi-transparency affects viewing.
Nevertheless, nevo sells an analog smart watch with an upgrade available to apply
Wysips technology. Tissot's T-Touch Expert Solar smartwatch uses a solar cell to
recharge the battery under light intensity equal to or greater than a fluorescent light. And
China's Truly Semiconductors is partnering with Wysips to develop LCD display modules
for smart watches and other mobile electronics.
Clothing: There's even an opportunity for solar PV to be incorporated directly onto or
even woven within clothing, to charge a personal device or possibly powering a function
of the clothing itself (such as body health monitoring). In this context flexibility is
paramount, with less stringent energy harvesting and lifetimes; these could even be
paired with printed thin-film batteries. Organic PV would be a preferred material choice
due to its (promised) large-area low-cost production on planar substrates.
Lamps: Solar-powered lamps are one other example where alternative PV technologies
can be brought to bear. In January 2015 Armor Group (France) showed a prototype OPV-
powered lamp for outdoor applications, where a roll of OPV film a foot or two long is
unspooled to charge and re-spooled back in to power the light. Previously, Nissha Printing
(Japan) developed and sold "AKARIE" solar lamps based on DSCs using EneLEAF
technology.
Bottom Line: How Big Is The PV Mobile Devices Market, Really?
The consumer electronics sector has been a tantalizing end market for just about every
technology component imaginable. Portable charging products have trickled into the
market for several years, and numerous demo examples and concepts continue to show
up.
That said, n-tech has concerns about there being a clear pathway to reliable and
significant revenue streams. Solar cells on phones still have quite a long way to go to
offer a substantial boost to battery life, especially if forced to be transparent.
Improvements to these PV technologies should progress in the next few years, but that
will open up cherished BIPV end-markets which may lure away from a consumer-
electronics focus.
Our analysis suggests a rather conservative outlook for mobile PV opportunities,
approaching $100 million by 2018, and topping $400 million by 2022 -- worthy of attention,
but seemingly far from the hopes and dreams of serving billions of devices worldwide. Of
course there is a caveat: if there is some breakthrough support from OEMs willing to

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design a solar cell into a device as a means to sustain significantly longer battery life,
these numbers could quickly skyrocket.
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2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
$Millions
© n-tech Research 2015
Revenue for Embedded Device/Portable
Charging Power Applications