Solar Power Inverters: Topologies, Wide-Bandgap Devices and Vendors

Finding

Huawei and Sungrow hold about 55% of the world inverter market, while the US market runs on different suppliers

Wood Mackenzie counted 589 GW AC of PV inverters shipped in 2024: Huawei 176 GW, Sungrow 148 GW, and nine Chinese companies in the top 10. Huawei has been largely out of the US market since 2019; Sungrow leads US shipments, with Enphase, SolarEdge, SMA, Power Electronics and TMEIC holding the rest.

Inverters are networked, firmware-updated devices that can curtail or trip a plant on command, which makes them a grid-security question. US agencies and utilities have tightened scrutiny of Chinese inverters and their communication modules, and foreign-entity-of-concern rules now limit Chinese content in projects claiming US clean-electricity credits. Lithuania and other European grid operators have restricted remote access by Chinese vendors.

Inside the box, the power semiconductors are shifting. Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs first replaced silicon in the boost (MPPT) stage of string inverters and are moving into the inverter bridge as 1,500 V string inverters grow past 300 kW. Gallium nitride (GaN) suits the high switching frequency and small size of module-level electronics. The device suppliers are the same as for EV traction inverters: Infineon, onsemi, STMicroelectronics, Wolfspeed, Mitsubishi Electric and Fuji Electric, with StarPower, BYD Semiconductor and Sanan rising in China.

Topologies

Inverter topologies and where each fits

Solar inverter topologies
Topology	How it works	Typical use	Leading vendors
String inverter	Converts DC from one or more series strings of panels; MPPT per string	Homes, commercial roofs, and utility plants built with 250-350 kW units	Huawei, Sungrow, Solis, Growatt, SMA, SolarEdge, Chint Power
Microinverter	One small inverter per panel or pair; DC never leaves the roof	Shaded or complex residential roofs; meets rapid shutdown natively	Enphase, Hoymiles, APsystems, Tesla (Solar Roof)
String plus optimizers	DC-DC optimizer at each panel feeds a fixed-voltage string inverter	Residential and commercial roofs	SolarEdge, Huawei, Tigo
Central inverter	1-5 MW units in containerized skids with MV transformer	Utility-scale plants	Sungrow, SMA, Power Electronics, TMEIC, Ingeteam, GE Vernova
Hybrid inverter	Shared DC bus for PV and battery; grid-forming backup on outage	Homes and small business with storage	Tesla, SolarEdge, Enphase, Sol-Ark, GoodWe, Sungrow, Deye
Off-grid inverter-charger	Forms its own grid from a battery; generator input	Cabins, remote sites, island microgrids	Victron, Schneider Electric, OutBack, Deye

Semiconductors

Silicon carbide moves in from the DC side

Corrected: central inverters remain mostly silicon IGBT; SiC adoption is fastest in string inverters.

Power semiconductors by inverter type
Inverter type	Dominant device	Trend
String inverter	Silicon IGBT; SiC MOSFET boost stage	SiC spreading from the MPPT stage into the bridge on 1,500 V units
Microinverter	Silicon MOSFET	GaN entering module-level designs for size and frequency
Power optimizer	Silicon MOSFET	Low voltage; GaN in early use
Central inverter	Silicon IGBT modules (three-level)	SiC limited by module cost at MW scale; hybrid Si-SiC modules appearing
Hybrid inverter	Silicon plus SiC	SiC in the bidirectional battery stage
Off-grid inverter	Silicon MOSFET and IGBT	Cost-driven; slowest to change

Makers

Solar inverter makers

Global makers with their plant countries; US plants are named where they exist. Active companies first, then planned, closed and bankrupt ones.

Utility and commercial

Utility and commercial solar inverter makers
Company	Products	HQ	Plants	Technology	Status
Chint Power Systems	CPS string inverters	China	China	String inverters	active: Sells in the US as CPS America
Delta Electronics	M-series string inverters	Taiwan	Taiwan, China, Thailand	String inverters	active
Fimer	String and central inverters	Italy	Italy	String and central inverters	active: Former ABB solar inverter business
Gamesa Electric	Proteus central inverters	Spain	Spain	Central inverters and storage PCS	active
GE Vernova	FLEXINVERTER	US	Not disclosed	Central inverter skids for solar and storage	active
Huawei	SUN2000 string inverters and optimizers	China	China	String inverters to 300+ kW on 1,500 V	active: Largest inverter shipper; largely out of the US market since 2019
Ingeteam	INGECON SUN inverters	Spain	Spain, US (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), India, Brazil	Central and string inverters	active
KACO new energy	blueplanet string inverters	Germany	Germany	String inverters	active: Owned by Siemens
Kehua Digital Energy	Central and string inverters; storage PCS	China	China	Central and string inverters	active
Power Electronics	Freemaq central inverters and storage PCS	Spain	Spain, US	Central inverters and battery PCS	active: Major supplier of US utility central inverters
Sineng Electric	Central and string inverters	China	China	Central and string inverters	active
SMA Solar Technology	Sunny Central, Sunny Tripower, Sunny Boy	Germany	Germany	Central, string and residential inverters	active
Solis (Ginlong)	String and hybrid inverters	China	China	String inverters	active
Sungrow	SG string and central inverters; PowerTitan storage	China	China, India, Thailand	String and central; SiC in boost stages	active: Second-largest shipper and the US utility market leader
TBEA SunOasis	Central and string inverters	China	China	Central and string inverters	active: TBEA subsidiary; TBEA is also China's largest transformer maker
TMEIC	Solar Ware Samurai central inverters	Japan	Japan, US	Central inverters and battery PCS	active
Yaskawa Solectria Solar	Commercial string inverters	US	US	String inverters	active: Owned by Yaskawa

Residential and hybrid

Residential solar inverter makers
Company	Products	HQ	Plants	Technology	Status
APsystems	Multi-module microinverters	China	China	Microinverters	active
Enphase Energy	IQ8 microinverters	US	US (contract plants in Texas and South Carolina), Mexico, India	Microinverters	active: Largest microinverter maker; US-built units count toward domestic content
Fronius	Primo, Symo and Tauro inverters	Austria	Austria	String and hybrid inverters	active
Generac	PWRcell inverter	US	Not disclosed	Hybrid inverters	active
GoodWe	Residential and commercial string and hybrid inverters	China	China	String and hybrid inverters	active
Growatt	Residential and commercial string and hybrid inverters	China	China	String and hybrid inverters	active
Hoymiles	Microinverters	China	China	Microinverters	active
SolarEdge	Home Hub inverters with power optimizers	Israel	US (Austin, Texas; Tampa, Florida), Vietnam	Optimizer-based string inverters	active: Moved production for the US market to US contract plants
Tesla	Powerwall 3 and Tesla Solar Inverter	US	Not disclosed	Hybrid inverter built into the battery	active

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope: Solar Power Inverters
Sources: Wood Mackenzie global PV inverter market share, 2025; vendor data
Updated: October 2026

Solar Power Inverters