SHIP Supplier World Map Update: New entrants, market exits and a shift toward integrated energy solutions

The number of experienced suppliers in the solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP) sector continues to grow. By the end of 2025, 23 companies had installed more than ten SHIP plants worldwide (see chart above). The leading trio – Modulo Solar from Mexico, Solarheat Group from China and G2Energy from the Netherlands – maintained their top positions in the ranking. Three newcomers joined the list: Rackam from Canada, Gasokol from Austria and Solatom from Spain. The ranking is based on a survey of 66 companies listed on the SHIP Supplier World Map. However, the composition of the updated supplier database continues to evolve. As in previous years, several companies were removed from the map, while new market entrants were added. At the same time, many established SHIP suppliers are expanding their portfolios beyond stand-alone solar heat systems and increasingly offer integrated energy solutions that combine solar heat with heat pumps, power-to-heat technologies and other industrial decarbonisation measures.

The survey of SHIP turnkey suppliers was conducted in February and March 2026. Readers can access the full set of infographics in English, Spanish and Portuguese below the World Map. Find further results of the SHIP survey here. The survey was financed by National Resources Canada, while the graphics were produced with support from the German research project ProSolNetz.

Agricultural and farming sector dominates global SHIP market

But the picture of the SHIP supply industry is only complete if one also looks at the ranking of the providers with the largest SHIP capacity installed (see graphic below).

The composition of the map showing SHIP suppliers with more than 10,000 m² of installed collector area changed only slightly in 2025. One notable departure was Inventive Power from Mexico, which exited the project development with parabolic trough collectors and was therefore removed from the map.

A notable newcomer to the ranking was the Austrian air collector manufacturer Cona Solar. The company commissioned eleven new SHIP projects in 2025, primarily for agricultural drying applications. This performance secured Cona Solar second place in the ranking, behind market leader Modulo Solar of Mexico, which completed 14 new SHIP projects during the year across a range of industries, including textiles, commercial laundry, automotive manufacturing, and machinery production.

Third and fourth place in terms of newly commissioned SHIP plants in 2025 went to Infinity Solar from the Netherlands with eight projects for heating animal stables and Grammer Solar from Germany with five projects for agricultural drying, respectively. The results underline the dominance of the farming and agricultural sector within the global SHIP market.

SHIP suppliers increasingly diversifying their offerings

Another trend became apparent in the survey: established SHIP suppliers are increasingly expanding their portfolios beyond solar thermal technologies and now offer a broad range of integrated energy solutions. The Austrian project developer Solid Solar Energy Systems, for example, implements a wider spectrum of technologies, including cooling systems, heat pumps, thermal storage, photovoltaics, and battery systems for grid stabilization.

Other suppliers are following a similar strategy. Alain Robic, Managing Director of Azteq Energy, explained the rationale behind the company’s broader portfolio: “Beyond our established expertise in concentrating solar thermal, we have integrated the capability to include complementary electric solutions to our offering to maximize the decarbonization potential we offer to our customers.”

The French project developer New Heat also began offering multi-technology projects three years ago in order to better align solutions with customer expectations. “Today, stable heat prices over a 20-year period through a solar thermal system are no longer what industrial clients in Europe are primarily looking for, as the global situation is highly uncertain,” explains New Heat Manager Pierre Delmas. “Some alternatives, such as heat recovery systems or electric boilers, require less long-term commitment, although their decarbonization impact is more limited. Depending on the type of customer and their specific constraints, one solution may be more suitable than another.”

Overall, the survey indicates that SHIP suppliers are increasingly diversifying their offerings and developing integrated, technology-neutral energy solutions to better meet evolving customer requirements and market conditions.

SHIP plants commissioned in 2025 by Modulo Solar in Mexico (top left), Meisun Solar Energy in Jordan (top right), New Heat in France (bottom left), and Grammer Solar in Germany (bottom right). New SHIP projects using concentrating collectors commissioned in 2025 are featured separately in this article. Photos: Modulo Solar, Meisun Solar Energy, New Heat, and Grammer Solar.

Update SHIP Supplier World Map with links to SHIP plant world map

66 companies are currently listed on the updated SHIP Suppliers World Map, among them 74 % produce at least one sort of collector in-house or on-site. This proportion has remained fairly constant in recent years. 21 enterprises offer solutions with concentrating collectors and 28 manufacturer different types of stationary collectors. As part of the revision, the new SHIP plants from 2025 were added as references for the specific project developers and their portfolios were updated. Each company popup window now also includes a link to the company’s references listed on the https://ship-plants.info/ world map established and updated by the Austrian institute AEE INTEC.

The following companies were added to the SHIP Supplier World Map during the update in May 2026:

• Autonomize is a new Austrian project developer founded in 2024. The company commissioned its first two agricultural heat projects in 2025.
• Holmstone is a South African project developer founded by Henning Holm, who also leads the engineering consultancy Holms and Friends. The company is preparing its first 600 m² solar heat installation under a heat purchase agreement model for an agricultural customer in South Africa.
• Helioclim, France, specializes in parabolic trough collector systems for industrial heat and power generation. The company reported three SHIP projects with a combined collector area of 1,750 m² commissioned in recent years.
• Enhelios is a German project developer established in August 2025 to commercialize parabolic dish technology. Managing Director Hilmer Heineke is currently in discussions with district heating utilities, feed producers, and outdoor swimming pool operators regarding future installations.
• Solis Solar is an established Brazilian manufacturer of flat-plate solar collectors. In 2025, the company completed four brewery projects in which its collectors provide heat at temperatures between 70 °C and 80 °C for mashing and clarification processes.

Shifting their focus in response to challenging market conditions

The annual update of the SHIP Supplier World Map not only identifies new market entrants but also reviews the activity status of existing companies. As a result, several suppliers were removed from the database because they have ceased operations or shifted their business focus away from industrial solar heat.

• Gasokol from Austria, a long-established flat-plate collector manufacturer, filed for bankruptcy in April 2026. The company’s management is currently pursuing options to maintain operations and secure the future of the business.
• Covalersa from Spain was unable to realize its first commercial project using proprietary linear Fresnel collector technology due to internal challenges on the customer side. According to the company, the increasingly competitive economics of photovoltaic and heat pump systems have further reduced market opportunities, and Covalersa is expected to cease business operations.
• Quadsun from India has reduced marketing efforts for its concentrating solar dish systems. The company cites declining direct normal irradiation (DNI) levels as a key challenge together with a steep increase in mirror costs from Europe. “Low DNI is due to air pollution that increases diffuse irradiation and climate change, which has made cloudy skies more prevalent. Solar PV and heat pump combinations are easier and more competitive for the applications we targeted,” said Prakash Bhalekar, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Quadsun.
• Summa Energy (former Savosolar Oy) from Finland has decided to phase out its solar thermal activities. “The solar thermal market has faced challenging conditions for many years, particularly with the rapid growth of PV technologies. As a result, we have decided to focus our business on other areas of the renewable energy sector,” stated Antti Lilleberg, Managing Director of Meriaura Energy, now operating under the name Summa Energy.
• Solarux from Turkey has discontinued its business activities in concentrating solar dish systems for industrial heat production. The company intends to focus instead on photovoltaic systems combined with concentrating solar power technologies.
• Soblue (Switzerland), a manufacturer of PVT collectors, dissolved the company in early 2026 after sales volumes failed to reach sustainable levels. The German heating technology provider Caldoa acquired Soblue’s patents and hired one of its sales representatives. Caldoa plans to market the PVT collectors in integrated energy systems combining geothermal energy and ice-storage technology for commercial heat customers. However, the company declined inclusion on the SHIP Supplier World Map, as its primary customer groups are public-sector building owners and housing companies rather than industrial heat users.

The 2026 update of the SHIP Supplier World Map highlights both the resilience and the transformation of the industrial solar heat sector. While companies continue to enter the market and established project developers offer integrated energy solutions, several players have withdrawn or shifted their focus in response to challenging market conditions. As a result, the boundaries between traditional SHIP suppliers and broader clean-energy solution providers are becoming increasingly blurred.

Websites of companies mentioned in this news article:
SHIP Supplier World Map: http://www.solar-payback.com/suppliers/
Natural Resources Canada: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/
ProSolNetz: https://www.solarwirtschaft.de/unsere-themen/csp/prosolnetz/( in German)
Autonomize: https://autonomize.at/
Azteq Energy: https://azteq.be/de/
Casolar: https://www.casolar.com.mx/
Caldoa (Soblue): https://caldoa.de/
Cona Solar: https://www.conasolar.com/
Enhelios: https://enhelios.com/
Gasokol: https://www.gasokol.at/
G2Energy: https://www.g2energy.nl/
Glasspoint: https://www.glasspoint.com/
Grammer Solar: https://www.grammer-solar.com/de/
Helioclim: https://www.helioclim.fr/en/accueil-english/
Himin: http://www.himinsun.com/
Holmstone: https://www.holmstone.co.za/
Infinity Solar: https://infinitysolar.nl/
Linuo Paradigma: http://www.linuo-ritter-international.com/
Meisun Solar Energy: https://meisolar.com/
Modulo Solar: https://modulosolar.com/en/index.html
New Heat: https://newheat.com/en/
Next Source: https://nextsource.nl/
Quadsun: https://www.quadsuntechnology.com/
Rackam: https://rackam.com/en/
Summa Energy (Savosolar): https://summaenergy.com/en/home/
SolarEast Group: https://www.sunrain.com/
Solatom: https://solatom.com/
Solarwall Spain: https://www.solar-payback.com/suppliers/
Solid Solar Energy Systems: https://www.solid.at/
Solis Solar: https://www.solissolar.com.br/
Sunoptimo: https://www.sunoptimo.com/en
Tigi Solar: https://www.tigisolar.com/
TVP Solar : https://www.tvpsolar.com/
Vicot Solar Technologies: https://vicot.goldsupplier.com/