INTERVIEW WITH SUNGROW POWER SUPPLY

Sungrow Power Supply (“Sungrow”) is the world’s most bankable inverter brand with over 269 GW installed worldwide as of 2022. 

Interview with Moritz Rolf, Director Central and Northern Europe, Turkey at Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd.

Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?

Moritz Rolf: Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility-scale, commercial & industrial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. Recently Sungrow has also entered the EV-charging station market and has released products for both, residential as well as fast-charging solutions. With a strong 25-year track record in the PV space, Sungrow products power installations in over 150 countries.

As a leader in innovation in the solar industry, Sungrow possesses a dynamic technical R&D team that consists of over 2600 employees. The Company has also invested in its own in-house testing centre approved by SGS, CSA, and TÜV Rheinland. In 2019, Sungrow launched the world’s largest 

With an estimated 268 GW of installations, 2022 will finish as a record year for solar energy as the world’s demand for the cheapest and cleanest energy source grows. In 2023 the market is expected to grow to over 315GW, the market continues to look positive. Energy storage (ESS) will become a crucial factor for solar parks to contribute to the stable energy supply.

Growing demand for solar energy and supply chain challenges determine the energy industry

Despite global supply chain challenges and the changing economic conditions facing the energy industry in general and the renewable industry in special, Sungrow will again achieve large growth figures in 2022 – as I shared in a webinar with PV magazine in November 2022. In total, Sungrow has shipped 23 GW of inverter power in Europe until the end of 2022 and outperformed expectations, especially in the residential sector. Here the demand for energy security and independence from rising energy prices is increasing significantly.

E.E: What’s the news about new products?

M.R: Sungrow continues to expand its portfolio with product heroes 2022.

As the only inverter manufacturer with such a broad product range, Sungrow will continue to expand its product portfolio in 2023. Newly introduced to the European market is an EV charging solution with the AC EV charger which is offering the complete set-up for residential houses. The upcoming 30 KW DC EV charger will be further answer customer needs this year. Further highlights in 2022 were the newly released 1+X Modular Central Inverter and the PowerTitan, a new liquid cooled energy storage system. Already in 2021, Sungrow introduced the ultra powerful 3-Phase String Inverter SG350HX which is now available for the EU. Currently, an increasing number of certifications are coming in to make the inverter in most EU countries available. 

The success of Sungrow’s products is further proven by the fact that Sungrow maintained its status as the most bankable inverter brand for four consecutive years in the BloombergNEF (BNEF) PV Module and Inverter Bankability Survey. Sungrow became the only inverter supplier ranked “100% bankable” this year.

E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?

M.R: The European solar market in 2022 was dominated by the terrible war in Ukraine. What seemed to be impossible suddenly has become reality. The consequence was that energy security and cost of energy was in everyone’s mind and thus accelerating the demand for solar installations, mostly in the residential and commercial segments. Here the growth numbers have doubled in some countries. Germany has seen a year-on-year growth of 37% in PV installations. In order to replace the missing Oil & Gas from Russia, the government is continuing to improve the market environment for the solar industry. Investments in solar power are supposed to be more secure and attractive. Long approval processes will be made more efficient and tax cuts and subsidies on residential solar power as well as heat pumps support homeowners to make the step for clean and independent power possible. There are also still some limitations in the market. The global supply chain situation has also been a challenge for the solar industry. But the largest limitation for a quick increase of solar installations is unfortunately the lack of installers. There are programs to speed up the amount of workforce, but these effects will take some time. Therefore, the deployment of solar power during the next years will mostly be limited by component and labor shortages, not by demand.

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

M.R: While 2022 has been a challenging year, the future for solar looks bright. In 2023, the solar energy market is expected to grow again by at least 50 %. This winter will decide to which extent the European gas shortage will impact heating, power, and electricity generation. The good news: Despite the uncertainties, Sungrow will be able to meet the rising demand for residential and hybrid inverters and will also be able to ship more utility inverters.

Moritz Rolf recommends: “Long-term planning will continue to be advisable. As with modules, large inverters are best ordered six months before the required installation date”.

The most innovative product the Sungrow Range has ready to order now is probably the 1+X modular inverter as it combines the best efficiencies of string and central inverters and thus optimises OPEX best compared to all inverters in the range of up to 8.8 MW.

E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?

M.R: The just released EU Market Outlook by SolarPowerEurope 2022-2026 report cumulates in the European Union a record-breaking 41.4 GW of solar power in 2022. Also, it highlights that the European solar shows no signs of slowing down. Their average prediction for 2023 is 53.6 GW more solar power in the EU – this ‘most-likely’ pathway takes us to at least 85 GW of new solar per year by 2026. This means the EU solar market is set to more than double within four years and reach 484 GW by 2026. We can see that the market is on hyper growth now finally. Sungrow is able to offer latest technology for the PV industry with an attractive portfolio both for the utility-scale as well as the distribution business.