Global PVT market in transition: growth returns after two-year slide
July 3, 2025
Germany led the global PVT market in 2024, followed by the Netherlands and Spain. A total of 72,544 m² of PVT collectors were newly installed worldwide last year, representing 37.5 MWth and 18.6 MWel, with most installations concentrated in Europe and China. This marks a significant 13 % growth in the global PVT market – signalling a return to growth after two consecutive years of sharp decline. These findings are part of the PVT chapter in the recently published Solar Heat Worldwide report, prepared under the auspices of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. The Austrian institute AEE INTEC conducted a global survey of PVT collector manufacturers and suppliers, with 46 companies contributing data.
“The global PVT market is currently undergoing a phase of consolidation and strategic realignment”, said Carina Seidnitzer-Gallien, who leads the annual PVT survey at AEE INTEC. “After experiencing a sharp decline in new installations – down more than 46 % in 2022 and a further 27 % in 2023, mainly due to the expiry of support schemes in key markets such as France – early signs of stabilization and renewed growth are now beginning to appear.”
Seidnitzer-Gallien also noted that several new manufacturers have recently entered the PVT sector, mainly in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Meanwhile, emerging activity is being observed in China, although the PVT market there still lags far behind the country’s dominant PV industry.
Figure 1: PVT capacity globally installed per year in MWth. Source: Solar Heat Worldwide / AEE INTEC
By the end of 2024, 1.67 million m² of PVT collector area were in operation worldwide –500,000 m² of which were added over the past six years. Figure 2 illustrates the regional distribution of this global capacity. France has the largest share of PVT collector area globally, accounting for 38 % of the total installed capacity. Most of this was deployed in 2020 and 2021, primarily in the form of air collectors. The second-largest share belongs to Asia (excluding China), with South Korea in particular reporting significant PVT installations, though many of these date back several years.
Germany, China, and the Netherlands also contribute notable shares to the global market, with the majority of their systems installed in the last five years. In these three countries, uncovered PVT collectors dominate, typically used as a heat source for brine-source heat pumps.
In 2024, the global market for newly installed PVT collectors – totalling 72,544 m² – consisted of 79 % uncovered collectors, 18 % covered collectors, and 3 % air collectors.
Figure 2: Distribution of the total installed PVT collector area (1.67 million m2) by economic region in 2024. Source: Solar Heat Worldwide / AEE INTEC
Website of organizations mentioned in this news article:
IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme: https://www.iea-shc.org/
Solar Heat Worldwide: https://www.iea-shc.org/solar-heat-worldwide
AEE INTEC: https://www.aee-intec.at/en/
