From Europe to the United States, restrictions and even bans on Chinese inverters are rising from public opinion agitation to further political action.
On November 14, 2025 local time, more than 50 Republican lawmakers from the conservative group of the US House of Representatives jointly sent a letter to the Department of Commerce, calling for a ban on photovoltaic and energy storage inverters from Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) from entering the US market, citing “potential national security risks” and targeting Chinese manufacturing.
In this letter, lawmakers expressed “concerns” about the widespread use of Chinese made solar inverters and energy storage inverters in the United States, stating that such devices may be maliciously exploited, endangering the safety of the US power grid. They specifically cited a Reuters report from May 2025, which claimed to have discovered “communication modules not specified in the documentation” in some Chinese inverters, potentially constituting an “unauthorized remote communication channel”.
Although Chinese companies have repeatedly declared that their products strictly comply with international standards and local regulations, and have never been involved in any cybersecurity incidents, “if you want to be punished, there is no excuse”. This type of accusation quickly became a “public opinion ammunition” for political pressure.
The end of the letter reveals the true intention: ‘The United States and its allies have sufficient alternative supply capabilities…’ – the essence of this action is to protect trade under the guise of ‘de risking’.
1、 Global hegemon, whose cake has it touched
The Chinese inverter industry, with continuous technological innovation and extreme cost control, has occupied over half of the global market share. According to the Wood Mackenzie report, the shipment of photovoltaic inverters in China will reach 330GWac in 2024, accounting for 56% of the global total.
In the United States, the world’s second largest photovoltaic market, Chinese inverters continue to increase their market share due to their performance and cost advantages in the industrial and commercial sectors. This has caused a strong crisis for local manufacturers. Similarly, in the European market, the proportion of Chinese inverters has exceeded 60%, and 80% of the new production capacity in 2024 is expected to come from China, which has put pressure on the profits of local European enterprises and led to a shrinking market share.
So, protectionist measures were repeatedly employed: Lithuania legislated to ban Chinese equipment; German, Czech and other national security agencies issued warnings; In November 2025, more than 30 European Parliament members jointly urged the European Commission to immediately restrict Chinese inverters from participating in key energy projects in Europe.
2、 Sniper upgrade, how much does it affect?
The previously passed Great America Act in the United States has stipulated that from 2026 onwards, new energy projects seeking federal tax credits are not allowed to use critical equipment from FEOC countries such as China. This essentially excludes Chinese products from large-scale photovoltaic power plants in the United States.
However, a large number of small and medium-sized household and commercial projects that do not rely on subsidies may still use Chinese equipment due to their high sensitivity to costs. This may be the reason why US lawmakers are further pressuring and attempting to completely block all application scenarios. Industry insiders analyze that if the Ministry of Commerce adopts the suggestion, it may introduce stricter bans or review mechanisms.
At present, the US Department of Commerce has not publicly responded. But the intensification of the game has become a foregone conclusion.
3、 How can Chinese inverter manufacturers break through?
For a long time, it has been well-known that the United States has systematically blocked China’s high-tech fields (such as chips, new energy, investment and financing, talent exchange, etc.) under the pretext of “national security”. Its essence is to curb the possibility of China catching up or even surpassing it through innovation and capital through pan security measures.
This kind of reaction to ordinary market behavior reflects its strategic anxiety rather than a real threat.
The more this happens, the more China cannot slow down its pace.
When technological advantages encounter political barriers, pure product competition is no longer sufficient to win. Chinese inverter companies need to shift their strategic focus to diversified production capacity layout, diversify geopolitical risks, and accelerate the opening of incremental battlefields.
Currently, China’s leading inverter companies have launched a wave of overseas factory construction:
The combined production capacity of Sunshine Power’s India production base and Thailand factory has reached 25GW, and recently plans to invest in a battery manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 10GWh in Egypt;
Gudewei and Jinlang Technology both choose to set up factories in Vietnam;
DeYe Corporation is vigorously expanding its presence in South Africa
4、 Top Chinese inverter companies: technological moat and performance resilience
Despite facing external pressure, China’s top inverter companies have demonstrated strong resilience through their profound technological accumulation and global layout. The following is the latest information of three representative listed companies (data as of 2025):
- Sunshine power supply (300274. SZ)
Industry status: Global leader in photovoltaic inverters and energy storage systems, with shipments ranking among the top in the world for consecutive years.
Core advantages: Full scenario product coverage (household, industrial and commercial, large-scale ground power stations), rapid growth in energy storage business, and a stable global network of brands and channels.
Latest performance in 2025: Revenue in the first three quarters increased by over 35% year-on-year, with the proportion of overseas revenue continuing to rise. The shipment volume of energy storage systems doubled, demonstrating its strong market competitiveness in complex environments.
- Huawei Digital Energy (not independently listed)
Industry status: An absolute leader in the field of intelligent photovoltaic inverters, reshaping the industry with digital and intelligent technologies.
Core advantages: The integration of leading power electronics technology and digital information technology, the construction of an intelligent photovoltaic management system, the improvement of power generation efficiency and operation and maintenance experience, and outstanding brand premium ability.
Market performance: Despite facing policy restrictions in some markets, it still maintains strong market share in Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and continues to consolidate its high-end market position through technological innovation.
- Gudewei (688390. SH)
Industry status: A leading global brand of household photovoltaic inverters and energy storage inverters, with a particularly outstanding reputation in the European and Australian markets.
Core advantage: Focusing on distributed scenarios, the product is known for its efficiency, stability, and intelligence, and has obvious advantages in the subdivision of household energy storage.
Latest performance in 2025: Driven by the explosive demand for overseas household energy storage, the company achieved high-speed growth in the shipment of inverters and energy storage batteries in the first three quarters, with a leading net profit growth rate in the industry, demonstrating its strong appeal in the end-user market.
5、 Written at the end: blockade or self bondage?
European and American politicians may have underestimated the backlash of this’ encirclement and suppression ‘. According to analysis, if the existing 200GW of Chinese inverters are forcibly replaced in Europe, the cost will exceed 100 billion euros and seriously drag down its own energy transformation process.
For Chinese enterprises, challenges certainly exist, but the deterministic demand for global energy transformation and their continuously strengthening technological, cost, and industrial chain advantages remain the confidence to cross the cycle. This game will ultimately be a contest between market laws and political shortsightedness.
