Updated date as on - Feb 14, 2020

The thin film and printed battery market was valued at USD 283.2 million in 2015 and is expected to reach USD 1250.0 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 24.7% between 2016 and 2022. Major driving factors for the market are the increasing demand for wearable devices, increasing integration of printed batteries in smart textiles, and high requirement of thin film and printed battery solutions in healthcare industry, which leads to high demand for miniaturized power sources to be integrated in them. This, in turn, would drive the market during the forecast period.

By Application, market for wearable devices expected to dominate the thin film and printed battery market during the forecast period

Wireless communication devices are usually small in size; therefore, have a limited internal space. As a result, they require a battery with properties such as steady power production, light in weight, and flexible so that it can be cut and folded into different shapes and sizes to fit into the device. Hence, thin film and printed batteries are ideal power solution for using in wireless communication devices, which would lead to a high growth of the thin film and printed battery market.

By Voltage Rating, thin film and printed batteries between 1.5 V and 3 V expected to hold the largest market size, during the forecast period

Increasing integration of batteries in the range of 1.5 V and 3 V in applications such as RFID tags, smart labels, entertainment devices, and medical patches is driving the growth of the thin film and printed battery market.

By geography, Asia Pacific (APAC) is expected to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period

Major consumer electronics manufacturers in this region are miniaturizing their product designs, which require thin power sources for compatibility with the thin film and printed designs of their products. As a result, the advancement of technology in the smart packaging such as use of printed RFID tags and smart labels in packages, demand for portable consumer electronics, and growing popularity of wearable devices in this region is fueling the market growth of thin film and printed batteries in the APAC region.

Market Dynamics

Driver: Increasing demand for wearable devices

Devices based on wearable technology include eyewear such as smartglasses and virtual reality wearable glasses; footwear such as athletic, fitness, and sports shoes; and wristwear such as smartwatches and wristbands; among others. Wearable devices are worn by people to compute their daily activities or to track information of body movement, steps, and heart rates. Wearable devices come in many shapes and forms, but the majority of wearable applications require ultra-thin durable batteries, creating a huge market potential for thin film and printed batteries. The application of wearable devices is growing from consumer electronics and healthcare sector to wireless communication devices. Moreover, there are also growing opportunities for mobile medical devices and wireless healthcare monitoring systems as the medical sector is likely to witness a major technological shift. The market for wearable technology is witnessing increasing product innovations with new product launches and developments. These devices require high flexibility and ultra-thin design which can be achieved by the implementation of thin film and printed batteries. Printed batteries have a variety of applications in the wearable devices industry. Companies such as Flexel LLC (U.S.), Jenax (South Korea), and many more are working toward the development of the printed battery so that it can be integrated into the ever-increasing demand for wearable technology-based devices.

Restraint: Less availability of printed ink materials

Most problematic challenge in printed battery technology is less availability of printed ink materials required for the manufacturing of a battery. Printed batteries are manufactured using various printing technologies. The materials used in battery design should to be printed on plastic or paper substrate. For printing these materials on a variety of substrates, manufacturers are required to have battery component materials formulated in the form of inks, which are then printed on substrates through various printing methods. As the suppliers of printed battery ink materials are limited, availability of printed ink materials is a major challenge for the battery manufacturers. However, printing ultra-thin ink mixture for battery components is also a difficult task to handle during the printing process. Thus, it is a challenge for printed battery manufacturers to cope with the less available printed materials that can enable mass production of printed batteries

Opportunity: Huge opportunity for thin film and printed batteries in energy harvesting application

Wireless sensor network-based systems are becoming more dominant due to the advancements in IoT and wireless sensor technologies. The energy harvesting technology is rapidly emerging as a viable power supply option for embedded system designers, enabling wireless sensors to be used in applications that previously were not feasible with conventional battery-powered designs. Thin film batteries are ideal solution for energy harvesting systems for their ultra-thin profile and low leakage characteristics. Increasing adoption of energy harvesting-based autonomous wireless sensor nodes has created huge opportunity for thin film batteries as a power source. For the energy harvesting application, many players are looking for flexible thin film batteries to power wireless sensors.

Challenge: Difficulty in designing of batteries

As thin film and printed batteries are getting integrated into compact devices, wearable devices, and smart medical devices, to maintain the dimensions of the battery becomes a major challenge for the manufacturers of these devices. Additionally, the compact size can result into constrained power of the battery. The form factor and the dimension of the thin film and printed batteries play an important role in the integration of miniaturized devices. The material used in the battery and the chemistry of the components are the main factors considered while designing the battery. Also, thermal design challenges of the battery need to be addressed as they provide comfortable usage and longevity to the device.

Scope of the Report

Report Metric Details Market size available for years 2013�2022 Base year considered 2015 Forecast period 2016�2022 Forecast units USD million Segments covered Voltage rating, Chargeability, Application, and Region Geographies covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW) Companies covered Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Enfucell Oy Ltd. (Finland), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Blue Spark Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Cymbet Corporation (U.S.), Imprint Energy (U.S.), BrightVolt Inc.(U.S.), NEC Energy Solutions (U.S.), Ultralife Corporation (U.S.), Flexel LLC(U.S.), Excellatron Solid State LLC (U.S.), ProtoFlex Corporation(U.S.), and Jenax Inc. (South Korea)

The research report categorizes the thin film and printed battery market to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-segments:

Thin Film and Printed Battery Market, by Voltage rating:

Below 1.5 V

Between 1.5 V and 3 V

Above 3 V

Thin Film and Printed Battery Market, by Chargeability:

Rechargeable

Single Use

Thin Film and Printed Battery Market, by Application:

Smart Packaging

Smart Cards

Consumer Electronics

Medical Devices

Wearable Devices

Entertainment

Wireless Communication

Others

Thin Film and Printed Battery Market, by Region:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific (APAC)

Rest of the World (RoW)

Key Market Players

Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Enfucell Oy Ltd. (Finland), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Blue Spark Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Cymbet Corporation (U.S.), Imprint Energy (U.S.), BrightVolt Inc.(U.S.), NEC Energy Solutions (U.S.), Ultralife Corporation (U.S.), Flexel LLC(U.S.), Excellatron Solid State LLC (U.S.), ProtoFlex Corporation(U.S.), and Jenax Inc. (South Korea)

Recent Developments

In September 2016, Panasonic Corporation launched flexible lithium-ion batteries with a width of 0.55 millimeter (about 0.022 inches). These batteries can maintain their charging and discharging characteristics even with repeated bending and twisting. The batteries add to longer life of devices.

In January 2016, Blue Spark Technologies came up with secure TempTraq Connect Service. This service offered parents and caregivers the ability to remotely monitor real-time temperature data from anywhere and makes it possible for people to stay connected, even at a distance.

In December 2015, STMicroelectronics launched EnFilm thin film batteries. These batteries are rechargeable solid-state batteries with fast constant-voltage recharge facility and have extremely thin design of 220 micrometers. These batteries have applications in Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and networks, RFID tags, smart cards, energy storage for harvesting devices, and wearable devices.

In October 2015, Samsung SDI launched a band battery, which can be rolled and bent, for wearable devices. The band battery can withstand 50,000 bends and can be bent to the curvature of human wrist.

Critical questions the report answers:

Where will all these developments take the thin film and printed battery market in the long term?

What are the upcoming trends for the market?

Which segment in market provides the most opportunity for growth?

Who are the leading vendors operating in this market?

What are the opportunities for new market entrants in the thin film and printed battery market?

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