S&P Global unveils 2025 Tier 1 module, inverter, battery supplier list

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">S&amp;P Global’s first 2025 Tier 1 Cleantech Companies list ranks 63 solar, wind, inverter, and battery suppliers by technology, financial health, and sustainability to guide investors and developers.</span></p><p>S&amp;P Global Commodity Insights has released its inaugural <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/news-research/blog/energy-transition/090925-tier-1-cleantech-companies-pv-wind-turbine-bess#battery-energy-storage-system-suppliers" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2025 Tier 1 Cleantech Companies</a> list, covering 63 renewable suppliers across solar modules, inverters, wind turbines, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).</p>
<p>The classification departs from traditional rankings and is designed to provide a transparent benchmark for reliability and long-term performance in an increasingly crowded clean energy supply chain.</p>
<p>“This comprehensive evaluation empowers industry players to navigate the top supplier landscape with confidence, identifying companies meeting Tier 1 criteria, including corporate sustainability,” Jessica Jin, principal research analyst at S&amp;P Global PV supply chain research, told <strong>pv magazine</strong>. “The Tier 1 designation helps both sides of the market make informed decisions by spotlighting suppliers that surpass a threshold of rigorous, relevant criteria.”</p>
<p>Unlike league tables that compare companies against each other, the Tier 1 designation identifies firms exceeding a defined threshold across at least four of six dimensions: market presence, market share, shipment scale, global diversification, financial performance, and sustainability assessment. S&amp;P said the methodology draws on its proprietary Commodity Insights database and Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) results to ensure objectivity.</p>
<p>The classification comes as global cleantech manufacturing grapples with overcapacity, falling prices, and growing regulatory scrutiny over sustainability and supply chain traceability. Developers and financiers, S&amp;P noted, face mounting challenges in evaluating counterparties. The Tier 1 framework aims to reduce information asymmetry and highlight companies able to withstand cyclical downturns. According to S&amp;P data, Tier 1 solar manufacturers recorded average EBITDA margins 12 percentage points higher than the sector average, underscoring the distinction’s commercial relevance.</p>
<p>The 2025 roster reflects the global distribution of industrial power, with Chinese firms dominating all categories. Fourteen module suppliers made the cut, including Trina Solar, JinkoSolar, Longi Green Energy, JA Solar, Tongwei, and Canadian Solar, alongside First Solar of the United States and Hanwha Q Cells of South Korea.</p>
<p>In inverters, Huawei, Sungrow, GoodWe, Ginlong, and other Chinese manufacturers were joined by Enphase Energy, SolarEdge, and SMA from the US and Germany. The nine wind turbine companies recognised include China’s Goldwind, Envision, Mingyang, and Sany Heavy Energy, as well as European and US majors Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Nordex, and GE Vernova.</p>
<p>The BESS category shows greater geographic diversity. CATL, BYD, Sungrow, and Trina Solar joined international players such as Tesla, Wärtsilä, LG Energy Solution, Fluence, and Saft. Several firms, including Trina Solar and Canadian Solar, appeared in more than one category, highlighting their vertically integrated positions.</p>
<p>S&amp;P Global said that the list does not constitute investment advice, and companies are listed alphabetically within each category. The exercise is intended to provide developers, lenders, and investors with a consistent, transparent reference point in selecting partners.</p>