Hoymiles, a traditional microinverter system provider, has expanded its portfolio to solar-plus-storage segments, covering balcony, residential, commercial & industrial (C&I), and utility applications. During SNEC 2026, the Managing Director of TaiyangNews, Michael Schmela, spoke to Guy Rong, Vice President of Hoymiles, about the latter’s transformation strategy, market-specific demands, new displayed products, and future aspirations. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
TaiyangNews: You are a brand, primarily known for microinverter-based products, that is expanding into a full energy solution provider, covering inverters, and residential & utility storage systems. Could you please explain your company’s strategy behind this transformation?
Guy Rong: Hoymiles started its transformation in 2020, aiming to address the market transition from pure green energy generation to a fusion of renewable energy and storage. Our current product portfolio covers all scenarios, including DIY, residential, commercial, and utility.
TaiyangNews: Could you please explain the logic behind the transition strategy of becoming a full energy solution provider for residential, C&I, and utility segments from a microinverter maker?
Guy Rong: The reason behind this transformation is multifold. We must align ourselves with the growing demands for solar-plus-storage projects. Another reason is that we should have in-house technology capabilities, for which we have been doing R&D for the last 6 years.
TaiyangNews: You are a microinverter maker expanding into new segments where several established inverter manufacturers already compete. How will you position yourself in these new segments against competition from the established ones?
Guy Rong: Among the established inverter companies, we started our journey with microinverters, a small but probably the most complicated system, which is placed inside a small enclosure. This system, which is normally placed at the back of a PV module, has to experience a higher temperature compared to a string inverter. On top of that, maintaining the internal operational temperature within a tolerable limit inside the small box, while ensuring guaranteed reliability for up to 25 years, is also a challenge. We are focusing on incorporating the acquired knowledge from microinverters, such as power electronics and heat management, into new products. We are a technology company rather than a marketing company, a key differentiating factor from our competitors.
TaiyangNews: As you mentioned, you have been successful in developing products for very compact spaces. How does this expertise translate to larger products in terms of performance?
Guy Rong: Unlike the microinverter, whose internal temperature reaches more than 110 °C and demands special attention on internal component selection, string inverters do not have this kind of stress. Our power conversion system (PCS), for example, when connected with inverters, can withstand operational temperatures of up to 45 °C or 50 °C without derating compared to 40 °C of traditional counterparts. This can be attributed to the correct component selection for the PCS by us.
TaiyangNews: What are your market-specific strategies for products that cover all use case scenarios?
Guy Rong: We have products that are focused on the specific needs of a country. Within Europe, in Germany, for example, we focus on the DIY, residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) storage products. Here, DIY products have the biggest market share. Other important European markets for us are the UK, France, and Italy. We are also doing well in Poland with our hybrid inverters. Apart from Europe, microinverters are still the mainstream product in Brazil, although the demand for micro and residential storage products is growing there. We are also investing heavily in India. We recently launched 2 new utility storage products in the country on May 8.
TaiyangNews: Do you expand in markets where you initially entered with your microinverter products?
Guy Rong: This is not always true for a few markets, like Pakistan, where there is no market for microinverters. Still, we are doing well with our hybrid inverters.
TaiyangNews: Microinverters can be coupled with PV modules or directly plugged into the consumer’s sockets. This approach can also be designed for C&I consumers. How are your new products perceived by the C&I clients?
Guy Rong: Since 2023, Hoymiles has ventured into the C&I space. We gain trust of our C&I customers by promoting new C&I products and explaining how we, as microinverter suppliers, can do their projects. For instance, we have completed a C&I storage project on a Malaysian island hotel chain.
TaiyangNews: How do you try to position yourself in the C&I and residential storage segment, where there is intense competition between inverter and PV module companies, who have expanded into storage?
Guy Rong: Unlike the C&I assembled storage products developed by PV modules and solar structure companies, Hoymiles’ products are not only a product but also a solution that serves the applications and use case scenarios. It makes the differentiation with our competitors.
TaiyangNews: As a solution provider, nowadays companies are developing balcony PV products, featuring inverters and storage. Furthermore, customers are now aiming to sell stored energy for revenue generation. Are you also developing similar residential balcony products?
Guy Rong: At the initial stages of product development, our sales team, spread across different countries, and the product team work together. Like the sales team, the product department also needs to go to the market and meet customers. They do a lot of market research and understand the consumer demands. After that, we develop the concept and design the product based on their inputs. We always promote products that have something unique compared to their counterparts.
TaiyangNews: Could you please talk about the new showcased products?
Guy Rong: On the bigger PCS side, we have 1.25 MW, 1,725 MW, 2.5 MW, and 3.5 MW products with both grid-following and -forming technology. They also have blackstart functionality. Currently, we have a 460 kW string PCS on display to meet the growing market demands.
Guy Rong: At SNEC, we are launching a 6.25 MWh AC container that comprises string PCSs. These PCSs are internally connected inside the container. These PCSs will enable the storage system to manage the operation more precisely than conventional models.
TaiyangNews: How does Hoymiles expect to be placed by 2030?
Guy Rong: We want to be one of the Tier 1 solar and storage companies in the global market by 2030.
TaiyangNews: Thank you.