Equipment trade
Where the GCC's clean-energy equipment comes from
Imports of PV, battery cells, transformers, converters, wind turbines and electrolysis machines into the six GCC states, by the country that sold them, year by year, from CEPII's reconciled trade data.
Saudi PV imports
$15m → $1.71bn
From 2017 to 2024. In 2024, 99.5% came from China.
GCC PV imports
$375m → $2.61bn
All six states, 2017 to 2024; 99% from China in 2024.
GCC lithium-ion cell imports
$156m → $973m
2017 to 2024; the largest seller in 2024 was China, with 88.8%.
GCC liquid-filled transformer imports
$672m → $1.35bn
2017 to 2024; China supplied 31.9% in 2024.
The PV figures change code in 2022: before it, HS 854140, which also holds LEDs and other photosensitive devices; from it, PV cells and modules alone (854142 and 854143). Values are free on board, in current US dollars, as CEPII reconciles them.
Where the GCC's clean-energy equipment comes from
Each arc runs from one of the ten largest exporters of the product chosen to the importer chosen, as wide as that year's trade. Press play to run the years.
- All six GCC states, 2024: $2.61bn in all
Before 2022, HS 854140 also holds LEDs. Arcs start at each exporter's country label point and end at the importer's country centre: country scale, never a site.
Source: CEPII, BACI release 202601 (reconciled from UN Comtrade), transformed by Renewable Vision. Licence: Etalab Open Licence 2.0. As of 2026-01-22.
Equipment imports by partner, year by year
Imports of one product group into one GCC state, or all six, stacked by the country that sold them. The seven largest exporters to the GCC keep their colour on every view.
- China
- United States
- Germany
- United Arab Emirates
- All other exporters
Before 2022, HS 854140 also holds LEDs. Free-on-board values in current US dollars, reconciled by CEPII from what exporters and importers declare to UN Comtrade.
Source: CEPII, BACI release 202601 (reconciled from UN Comtrade), transformed by Renewable Vision. Licence: Etalab Open Licence 2.0. As of 2026-01-22.
Sources
Where every figure comes from
One trade source for every figure on this page, named with its licence and release date.
| What | Publisher | Licence | As of | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment imports by importer, exporter, product and year, 2017–2024 | CEPII, BACI release 202601 (reconciled from UN Comtrade), transformed by Renewable Vision | Etalab Open Licence 2.0 | 2026-01-22 | Publisher's page/api/data/equipment-flows |
| Where each exporter is drawn on the map | Natural Earth, 1:50m admin-0 label points | Public domain | — | Publisher's page |
What each product group holds
| Product | HS codes | What else the code holds |
|---|---|---|
| PV cells and modules | 854143 (2022+), 854142 (2022+), 854140 (≤2021) | Before 2022, HS 854140 also holds LEDs. |
| Lithium-ion cells | 850760 | — |
| Liquid-filled transformers | 850421, 850422, 850423 | — |
| Static converters, inverters included | 850440 | HS 850440 holds every static converter: chargers, rectifiers and power supplies as well as solar inverters. |
| Wind turbines | 850231 | — |
| Electrolysis machines | 854330 | HS 854330 holds every machine for electrolysis, electroplating or electrophoresis, not only hydrogen electrolysers. |
Why BACI: UN Comtrade's terms let transformed data be republished, but ask those who do so to hold a premium subscription. CEPII's BACI is built from the same UN Comtrade reports, reconciled between exporter and importer, and published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0, which allows any use with the source named. The UN Comtrade-derived aggregates, as each importer declared them (CIF, to 2025), remain available at /api/data/trade.