A global market in transition
The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme's Solar Heat Worldwide 2025 report puts newly installed solar water collector capacity at about 17.8 GWth (25.4 million m²) in 2024, down 14.2 % on the previous year, with cumulative capacity in operation exceeding 560 GWth. China still accounts for around 64 % of new sales but continued to contract, while several sunbelt markets grew: Brazil by 10.8 %, Mexico by 10 % and Türkiye by 10 %. Türkiye was the third-largest market for new collector capacity in 2024, behind China and Brazil, and holds the second-largest installed base worldwide.
In the European Union, by contrast, the market shrank by roughly a quarter in 2023 to just over 1.8 million m² of collectors, with Greece overtaking Germany as the largest national market — pushing European and Turkish manufacturers towards export markets in the Middle East and Africa.
Why the Mediterranean and MENA remain core markets
The region combines high irradiation, large hot water demand and, in several countries, supportive rules. Israel has required solar water heaters on new residential buildings since 1980 and around 85–90 % of households use them; Cyprus has one of the highest per-capita solar thermal capacities in the world. Tunisia's PROSOL programme has subsidised solar water heaters since 2005, and Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon have run their own incentive and quality schemes. Dubai's green building regulations have required new villas to cover a large share of hot-water demand with solar since 2011.
Thermosiphon systems dominate the residential segment because they need no pump or controller, while forced-circulation systems with flat-plate collectors and large storage tanks serve hotels, hospitals and housing projects.
Solar Keymark as the entry ticket
Solar Keymark — the CEN-owned certification scheme based on ISO 9806, EN 12975 and EN 12976 testing plus annual factory inspection — covers more than two thirds of collectors sold in Europe and is increasingly written into tenders and incentive programmes across the Middle East and Africa. Its public database lets buyers verify performance coefficients and annual output figures independently, and the scheme has been extended to PV-T collectors. For exporters, Keymark-listed collectors and systems are becoming a precondition rather than a differentiator.
