Solar Collector Tube Market Size and Trends

The solar collector tube market size is expected to reach US$ 8.07 Bn by 2030, from US$ 4.56 Bn in 2023, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% during the forecast period.

The solar collector tube market is segmented into type, end user, system type, application, and region. By type, the market is segmented into U-shaped tubes, heat pipes, evacuated tubes, flat plates, air collectors, and others. Evacuated tubes are the largest segment, accounting for over 40% of the market share in 2022. This is due to their higher efficiency compared to flat plate collectors.

Solar Collector Tube Market Trends

Growing adoption of evacuated tubes over flat plate collectors: Evacuated tube solar collectors are displacing flat plate collectors and gaining increasing market share. In 2020, evacuated tubes accounted for over 80% of the global solar thermal market. Their higher efficiency, ability to work in cold climates, diffuse light acceptance and longer life makes them suitable for domestic and industrial process heat generation. Manufacturing innovations enabling lower production costs also favor uptake.
Emergence of next-generation heat pipe evacuated tube designs: Cutting-edge heat pipe and vacuum tube designs are enabling new high-temperature and high-efficiency collector models targeted at industrial process heat applications. For instance, Apricus has developed solar collectors with flexible advanced heat pipes that can operate at 400°C. TVP Solar’s new generation evacuated tubes attain 95% efficiency in converting solar radiation into heat, thereby promising more cost-effective and clean process heat.
Growing demand for building-integrated collectors: Architectural integration of solar thermal systems is gaining prominence, driven by aesthetics and space constraints. Building-integrated collectors such as solar glass facades are thus rising in popularity. Europe is at the forefront where over 75% of newly installed collectors feature building integration. Top manufacturers provide dedicated solar glass facades, windows, cladding and roofing integrated with collector tubes. For instances, the U.S. Department of Energy reported a 26% rise in building-integrated solar collector permits issued in California, U.S. municipalities between 2020 and 2021, indicating the technology is gaining broader acceptance.
Emergence of solar thermal for medium-temperature industrial applications: Historically solar collectors have been limited to low temperature applications below 100°C like water heating. However, ongoing innovations in evacuated tube technology are enabling cost-effective generation of mid-range process heat up to 400°C. Textile processing, chemical production, food/beverage pasteurization, automobile paint curing represent growing industrial applications for medium-temperature solar process heat using collector tubes.