Solar Thermal Collector Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By Type (Concentrating, Non-Concentrating (Flat Plate Collector, Evacuated Tube, Unglazed Water Collector, Air Collector)), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), By Region, and By Competition 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 31.26 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	9.01%
Fastest Growing Segment	Concentrating
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 52.46 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Solar Thermal Collector Market will grow from USD 31.26 Billion in 2025 to USD 52.46 Billion by 2031 at a 9.01% CAGR. Solar thermal collectors are engineered devices designed to absorb solar radiation and convert it into usable thermal energy by heating a fluid for applications such as residential water heating, space heating, and industrial processes. The market is primarily supported by the escalating global demand for energy security and the urgent necessity to reduce reliance on volatile fossil fuel imports. Furthermore, stringent government decarbonization mandates and financial incentives for renewable heat integration provide a foundational driver for adoption, encouraging the transition toward sustainable thermal energy sources across both residential and commercial sectors.

However, the industry encounters a significant challenge from the rapid electrification of the heating sector, where heat pumps and photovoltaic systems increasingly compete for investment and available installation space. This competitive pressure creates headwinds for traditional solar thermal technologies in mature markets. According to the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, in 2024, the global market recorded a total of 17.8 gigawatts-thermal of newly installed solar thermal capacity. This figure reflects the ongoing struggle to maintain growth momentum amidst the rising dominance of alternative electrification technologies.

Key Market Drivers

The Expansion of Large-Scale Solar District Heating Networks is fundamentally reshaping the market by shifting investment from individual residential units to centralized utility-grade infrastructure. Municipalities and utility providers are increasingly deploying megawatt-scale collector fields to feed renewable heat into city-wide grids, a strategy that effectively decouples urban energy systems from volatile fossil fuel prices while enabling seasonal thermal storage. This aggregation of demand allows for higher system efficiencies and lower levelized costs, making solar thermal competitive against electrification in the district energy sector. According to the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, July 2025, in the 'Solar Heat Worldwide 2025' report, the global sector commissioned 10 new large-scale solar district heating systems with a total capacity of 74 megawatts in 2024, underscoring the segment's resilience despite broader market headwinds.

Simultaneously, the Surging Demand for Low-Carbon Industrial Process Heat is driving adoption in sectors that require reliable medium-to-high temperatures, such as food processing, chemicals, and mining. Industrial operators are turning to advanced concentrating solar collectors to mitigate carbon emissions and secure long-term energy price stability, particularly for processes where electric heat pumps face technical or economic limitations. According to Solarthermalworld.org, June 2025, in the 'Solar heat faces setbacks in buildings but industrial use and district heating expand' article, the industrial segment recorded 120 megawatts of newly installed capacity in 2024, marking a significant 28% increase year-on-year. This industrial growth stands in stark contrast to the stagnation in mature residential markets; for instance, according to the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), March 2025, in the 'Statistical data on the German Solar Heating Market' report, Germany saw a constrained deployment of approximately 141 megawatts-thermal of new solar thermal capacity in 2024.

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Key Market Challenges

The rapid electrification of the heating sector constitutes a formidable barrier to the growth of the solar thermal collector market. As residential and commercial property owners increasingly prioritize versatile energy systems, technologies such as heat pumps and photovoltaic (PV) units are absorbing a significant portion of available capital and finite installation space. Photovoltaic systems offer the distinct advantage of generating electricity that can power a wide range of appliances, including electric heat pumps, creating an integrated energy solution that frequently displaces standalone thermal collectors. This technological shift reduces the addressable market for solar thermal devices, forcing them into a niche position where they must compete for the same physical roof area as their electric counterparts.

This competitive strain is clearly reflected in recent performance metrics from major established markets. According to the Federal Association of the German Heating Industry (BDH), in 2024, sales of solar thermal systems declined by approximately 40 percent compared to the previous year. This substantial contraction highlights the direct impact of the electrification trend, where the rising dominance of heat pumps and PV systems effectively crowds out traditional thermal technologies, thereby stalling broader market expansion.

Key Market Trends

The Adoption of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Collectors is emerging as a critical trend to counterbalance the spatial constraints imposed by the rapid electrification of building rooftops. As photovoltaic panels increasingly monopolize available surface area, hybrid collectors offer a dual-function solution that generates both electricity and heat from the same footprint, thereby maximizing the energy yield per square meter for property owners. This technology is gaining significant traction in mature markets where roof space is at a premium and efficiency mandates are tightening, effectively turning a competitive threat into a synergistic opportunity. According to Solarthermalworld.org, July 2025, in the 'Global PVT market in transition: growth returns after two-year slide' article, the global market for newly installed PVT collectors grew by 13 percent in 2024, reaching a total volume of 72,544 square meters as the technology moves beyond niche applications.

Simultaneously, the Convergence of Solar Thermal with Heat Pump Systems is advancing as a strategic evolution to enhance overall system performance and decarbonize heating more effectively. Instead of operating as isolated competitors, solar thermal units are increasingly integrated to elevate the source temperature for heat pumps, significantly improving their seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) and reducing electricity consumption during peak demand periods. This integration leverages the massive existing infrastructure of thermal collectors to create hybrid systems that are more resilient and efficient than standalone electric solutions. According to the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, July 2025, in the 'Solar Heat Worldwide 2025' report, the cumulative global solar thermal capacity in operation reached approximately 560 gigawatts-thermal, providing a substantial foundation for this hybridization trend to expand across residential and commercial sectors.

Segmental Insights

The Concentrating segment is identified as the fastest-growing category within the global solar thermal collector market. This expansion is primarily driven by the rising demand for high-temperature applications in industrial processing and power generation, which conventional flat-plate systems cannot efficiently support. According to the International Energy Agency, the global initiative for industrial decarbonization is a significant factor accelerating the adoption of concentrating technologies. Furthermore, the capacity of these collectors to provide consistent medium-to-high temperature heat makes them essential for large-scale district heating networks and manufacturing operations seeking reliable renewable energy integration.

Regional Insights

North America holds a leading position in the Global Solar Thermal Collector Market, driven by a mature renewable energy landscape and aggressive decarbonization mandates. This dominance is primarily sustained by the widespread deployment of unglazed collectors for swimming pool heating and a rising demand for commercial water heating solutions. Robust government support, including federal tax incentives, significantly lowers installation barriers for advanced thermal technologies. Furthermore, the Solar Rating & Certification Corporation (SRCC) plays a critical role in this ecosystem by providing the product certifications necessary to validate performance and ensure eligibility for these essential financial programs.

Recent Developments

• In May 2025, TVP Solar and its partners officially opened the Dorkwerd Solar Thermal Park in Groningen, the Netherlands. This facility, recognized as the largest solar thermal district heating installation in the country, comprises 24,000 high-vacuum flat panels covering an area of 12 hectares. The park is designed to supply sustainable heat to approximately 2,600 households effectively, maintaining high performance even during low-light winter conditions. The project demonstrates the commercial viability of large-scale solar thermal integration into district heating networks and highlights the successful collaboration between public utilities, land developers, and private technology providers.
• In November 2024, GlassPoint announced a strategic partnership with Cox, a Spanish water and energy utility, to advance the Ma'aden I solar thermal project in Saudi Arabia. The collaboration focuses on the initial Technology Showcase phase, which aims to decarbonize the aluminum supply chain using concentrated solar power-to-steam technology. The broader initiative represents a total investment of $1.5 billion and will eventually feature a manufacturing facility in the Kingdom to support the export of renewable energy components. Once fully operational, the project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 600,000 tons annually.
• In June 2024, Sunmaxx PVT and Oxford PV announced the launch of the "Solar Hammer" module, a high-efficiency photovoltaic-thermal unit. This new product integrates perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells with advanced thermal management technology adapted from the automotive sector. The module achieved a record total conversion efficiency of 80%, with 26.6% electrical and 53.4% thermal efficiency certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. The companies aim to commercialize this technology within 12 to 18 months to support the efficient decarbonization of electricity and heat supply in the built environment.
• In March 2024, Heineken Spain and Solatom Indertec Company inaugurated a large-scale solar thermal plant at the Quart de Poblet brewery in Valencia. The facility utilizes linear Fresnel collector technology to generate thermal energy for the brewing process, marking a significant industrial application of this specific solar concentration method. The plant features a solar field with 6,000 square meters of mirrors and 182 Fresnel modules, providing 4 megawatts of thermal power. This installation aligns with the brewery's goal to operate on 42% renewable energy and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1,300 tons, contributing significantly to its decarbonization strategy.

Key Market Players

• Greenonetec Solarindustrie GmbH
• Fivestar
• Soletrol
• Bosch Thermotechnik
• Sunrain
• Hewalex
• Eraslan
• Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG
• Sonnenkraft
• SunOptic

By Type	By Application	By Region
Concentrating Non-Concentrating (Flat Plate Collector, Evacuated Tube, Unglazed Water Collector, Air Collector)	Residential Commercial Industrial	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Solar Thermal Collector Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Solar Thermal Collector Market, By Type:

• Concentrating
• Non-Concentrating (Flat Plate Collector, Evacuated Tube, Unglazed Water Collector, Air Collector)

• Solar Thermal Collector Market, By Application:

• Residential
• Commercial
• Industrial

• Solar Thermal Collector Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE