Market and Technology Trends
Thermal Imaging and Sensing 2025
As anticipated, geopolitical tensions hasten China’s decoupling in thermal imaging while Western players remain resilient, backed by defense imaging and consumer sensing.
YINTR25497Key Features
- 2025-2030 forecast for thermal imagers and detectors (Munits, $M)
- 2025-2030 forecast for silicon wafers for thermal chips
- Market trends in the different end markets are driving the adoption of thermal technologies.
- Supply chain details for thermal imagers and detectors
What’s new?
- New segmentations to better fit end-market trends
- 2025-2030 silicon wafer forecast for thermal imagers and detectors
Product Objectives
This Yole Group report is an updated version of the 2024 report, providing a complete analysis of thermal imaging and sensing markets, applications, and technologies.
- The data presented in this report are based on consolidated data from over 50 players in the field.
- Since 2022, we have conducted 60+ interviews with key players across the supply chain to gather information and update this report. We have also attended events and conferences linked to thermal imaging and sensing applications and technologies.
- This new version provides:
- New significant trends and evolution in the thermal imaging and sensing industry markets, applications, and business models
- Presentation of the hot spots where things are moving, along with future high-potential applications
- Analysis of strategic moves since 2024: mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, etc.
- Understanding of the competitive environment, including an overview of key players and the evolution of thermal imaging and sensing vendor market shares by segment.
- Updated market data and forecast up to 2030 in value and volume for thermal imagers (microbolometers) and detectors (pyroelectrics and thermopiles)
- Supply chain description and analysis
- Latest technology trends
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the 2024 thermal imaging and sensing market, examining the trends for each application. The report was finalized in early June 2025, so the data is the latest available.
Stability in thermal detectors - Drones as a gold mine for thermal imagers?
Thermal detectors: Step-by-step innovation set to propel market to $669M by 2030
The global market is quite stable with limited dynamics. The industrial end-market continues to dominate this sector, particularly with pyroelectric technology detectors. In 2024, the market experienced a relatively flat year. While US and European players are targeting mid to high-end applications, Chinese players are mainly focused on low-end products. Several players are now waiting for the next wave of growth, possibly triggered by the automotive, industrial, and consumer end-markets.
Thermal imaging: while the West prays for automotive, the Chinese market is growing
The thermal imaging market continued to grow in 2024 compared to 2023, with major regional differences. Most of the growth in volumes comes from China, where the industrial segment registers a sustained demand. In Western regions, opportunities are more prevalent in new segments, such as UAVs or automotive. Growth in the automotive segment is expected to be driven by the emergence of new, stringent regulations in the U.S. on AEB systems, which may require the performance offered by thermal imaging (voted in 2024, for enforcement in 2029). Meanwhile, a Chinese market is emerging, with an increasing number of high-end cars equipped with night vision features. While the industrial segment is becoming saturated in Western regions, demand for thermography and surveillance cameras continues to increase in China. The local players are capitalizing on this opportunity by focusing on low-end products.
Newcomers raising hopes in detection - More regional decoupling in imaging
Thermal detectors: increasing interest from the market
Excelitas, Melexis, and Infratec currently. Their products address key needs in smart buildings (presence detection, gas sensing), industrial applications, and contactless temperature measurement in both consumer and automotive markets. Melexis continues to gain traction in the consumer and automotive sectors in 2024, with notable design wins from major OEMs. However, this strong position may soon be challenged by competitors eyeing these high-growth segments. New players like STMicroelectronics and Calumino, along with emerging companies such as JonDeTech and MERIDIAN Innovation, are poised to enter the market with innovative solutions targeting home appliances, smart buildings, industrial systems, and consumer electronics.
Thermal imagers: The regional decoupling of the ecosystem is more and more visible
For years, political decisions made in the context of the U.S.-China trade war and the Ukraine-Russia war have been impacting the thermal imaging supply chain, including restrictions on the export and import of devices and restrictions on raw materials. The effects of these decisions are becoming increasingly visible and contribute to a clearer separation of the Chinese industry from other regions. Chinese leaders Hikmicro and Raytron continued to grow significantly in 2024 while GSTiR stabilized its shipments. The Chinese thermal imaging industry has shipped 60% of the global volumes sold in 2024. Western players are focusing their efforts on areas where Chinese ones are banned or unchosen, such as defense, surveillance, and other high-end segments. Their shipments are slightly decreasing on average, as several local markets are saturated (consumer, for example). The automotive segment remains the only one that could drive significant volumes. Thus, several candidates are lining up to serve a potential >10 Munits market in the U.S., such as Teledyne FLIR, Seek Thermal and Lynred.
From hardware to software innovation
Thermal detectors: Has the technology reached a maturity plateau?
The thermal detector market is segmented into three main categories: pyroelectrics, thermopiles, and other technologies. While pyroelectrics have traditionally dominated, thermopiles are gaining significant traction and are expected to surpass pyroelectrics in market value by 2028. Regulatory changes further support this shift; pyroelectric sensors based on PZT are no longer exempt from the updated EU RoHS directive, which restricts the use of lead in electronic components. New players in the field, such as STMicroelectronics, Calumino, JonDeTech, or Meridian Innovation, are advancing the market through AI integration, enabling their technologies to compete with entry-level microbolometers in applications previously constrained by sensitivity and resolution. To meet the demands for miniaturization in the consumer sector, particularly for wearables, the integration of thermal detectors with PPG modules is being explored for continuous temperature monitoring and health tracking. Additionally, the sensor combo presents an opportunity for players involved in gas detection applications, offering a complete solution in an optimized SWaP.
Thermal imaging: the race for smaller pixels continues, optics and software must adapt new conditions
There are currently two major areas for improvement in the microbolometer chip. On the one hand, the industry is working to improve manufacturing processes to increase yield, reduce cost, and enhance the wider adoption of thermal imaging technologies. On the other hand, there is still a trend towards smaller pixels. There is a strong effort to find a Chalcogenide recipe that ensures high mechanical robustness and a high refractive index, as an alternative to Germanium due to supply chain issues and restrictions. In the long term, a new class of optical elements, metasurfaces, are being investigated for their potential to reduce the size of the lens sets or improve their optical performance. Scene analytics is becoming critical in applications such as security, drones and automotive. Software that processes thermal images needs to advance by incorporating AI-based functionalities. Several companies are making efforts to implement these solutions, embed them into standard processing units and build well suitable training data sets.
Glossary
Table of contents
Identity card
Report objectives
Yole’s definitions of thermal Imaging & Sensing
Thermal detectors and imagers – Segmentation update
Methodology and definition
About the authors
Companies cited
What we got right, what we got wrong
3-page summary
Executive summary
Context
Market data and forecasts
- Thermal detectors
- Thermal Imagers
- Market forecast synthesis
Market trends
- Thermal detectors
- Thermal Imagers
- Where do thermal detectors and imagers compete?
Market shares and supply chain
- Thermal detectors
- Thermal Imagers
- Leading thermal imager manufacturers
- Supply chain
- Ecosystem by application
- Noteworthy news
Technology trends
- Thermal detectors
- Thermal Imagers
- Thermal imager device innovation
- Technology trends: synthesis
Conclusion & Outlook
Yole Group related products
How to use our data?
About Yole Group
