Global Inverter Market Remains Top Heavy In 2022, Solis Moves To No 3

It’s concentrated at the top, when it comes to the Global Inverter market. The top 10 players accounted for 86% of all shipments, continuing their iron grip over the market. These are the findings from Wood Mackenzie’s global inverter report for 2022.

Solis Inverters (the company), which has emerged as a global powerhouse in the solar energy industry, was the only one of the top 5 players to change rankings, moving upto to number 3 in these rankings too. The recognition confirmed Solis’ dedication to technological innovation, product quality,  and the huge strides it has made in recent years.

2022 was marked by the inauguration of a brand-new factory featuring state-of-the-art, automated production lines for Solis, taking its production capacity to 80 GW.

This latest data comes on the back of many awards and accolades for Solis over the last 18 months. The company was presented the “top inverter brand 2023” seal for Belgium by respected global market research organisation, EUPD Research; having gained the same seal for the Netherlands and South Africa. This marks the eighth year running in which Solis has been recognised by EUPD, based on 100,000 interviews across more than 50 countries.

The top 10 global solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter vendors increasing their market share by 4% year-over-year since 2021, the analysis by Wood Mackenzie indicates.

The global PV demand of 201 gigawatt alternating current (GWac) in 2022 contributed to 48% growth year-over-year for PV inverters. In terms of inverter shipments, strong growth in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the United States where government support bolstered to meet clean energy goals led to a total of 333 GWac of global shipments in 2022. The industry saw this renewed increase in shipments as the pandemic-related chip shortage and other supply chain challenges eased in 2022.

The top five vendors – Huawei, Sungrow, Ginlong Solis, Growatt, and GoodWe – shipped more than 200 GWac and accounted for 71% of total global PV inverter shipments in 2022, growing 8% from 2021. Huawei’s shipments saw a significant increase of 83% in 2022 compared to 2021, while Sungrow’s shipments expanded 56% in the same period. Some rankings have placed Sungrow in pole position, however.

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region held 50% of the global market with a 44% year-over-year growth in shipments, with total shipments to the region reaching 167 GWac. China led the market with 78% of inverter shipments to APAC directed to the country as installations reach an all-time high. India retained its position as the second largest inverter market in APAC in 2022 but saw a 25% decrease in shipments year-over-year. While Japan overtook Australia as the third, with 7 GWac shipped to the country, seeing a 23% year-over-year growth.

Europe accounted for 28% of the global market with 92 GWac shipped to the region. Europe experienced the highest shipment growth with an 82% increase in 2022, following its 44% year-over-year growth in 2021, as the region strives for carbon neutrality by 2050 under the European Green Deal plan.

The US, however, consumed 13% of the global market, with only 42 GWac shipped to the country. PV-storage hybrid inverters made up 10% of the regional shipments as the US increases the integration of solar and storage.