Industrial Demand for Silver is Increasing
Silver’s position in the investment sector is well-established. For the average person with limited funds, silver’s low bar to entry makes it a very attractive precious metal that everyone can afford. Silver coins and bars play a very important role in many portfolios. Like gold, silver tends to have an inverse correlation to traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
Silver’s use in jewelry is also dynamically increasing due to the rise in prices of other precious metals. Well-known companies like Tiffany have made silver jewelry an international favorite and have continued to increase demand. But what is silver used for, if not decoration?
Beyond jewelry, silver is an important precious metal with many industrial uses. At one point, silver’s primary industrial use was in photography, where it was used for silver-based imaging in picture development. But the advent of digital photography changed all of that.
With silver’s historic industrial use no longer relevant, why is the industrial demand increasing?
Silver is now a primary metal for:
- Photovoltaics/Solar: Silver plays a key role in the production of solar cells that produce electricity. Silver’s use in photovoltaics is the leading current source of green electricity, increasing by 20 percent in 2024. As traditional electricity demand is straining the current capacity, new solar capacity has seen considerable growth in recent years.
Solar cells, electric cars, and other green energy technologies increase demand for silver. The Biden administration has ordered all federal government agencies to transition their gasoline-powered vehicle fleets to electric motors. It is also providing tax subsidies and incentives for electric vehicles, intending to eventually ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars.
From solar panels for homes and offices to vehicle charging stations and battery connections, silver is an important component in every electronic system that consumes power. Recent estimates show that this segment consumes around half of the electronic industry’s use worldwide.
- Electronics: With the increased demand for electronics, virtually every mechanical device with an on/off button is likely to use silver as the contact material.
- Medicine: Silver coatings are placed on various medical devices, such as breathing tubes and catheters, to help fight infections. Silver is also found in bandages and ointments because it keeps bacteria at bay, allowing the body to heal faster.
- Various Other Applications: Demand for silver is increasing in soldering, brazing metals, automotive uses, and water purification.
Silver is part of many deodorants. Lab coats used in medical applications often have silver embedded. Some seals on food products have silver embedded in them. It’s also used to slow down the rotting process for some wood used outdoors.
Silver’s qualities also benefit catalysts of all types. Silver is used to create catalysts for industrial applications covering many different manufacturing types, including the most common plastics we use daily. Ethylene oxide from catalysts is used for polyester. Other catalysts are used for formaldehyde in many textiles, adhesives, insulators, and more.
Silver is used in a variety of pigments, especially in stained glass. It is also used in photography and printing. Both regular and 3D printing use silver inks. Silver oxide is also used for long-lasting batteries.
Silver’s Value & Demand
Silver has been an important investment metal for centuries. As the spot price increases, it becomes more profitable for non-producing silver mines to reopen and for producing mines to go deeper and increase production.
However, the tremendous upswing in modern industrial uses, especially in the green energy sector and Photovoltaic uses, is driving an increase in industrial use. Silver’s value is subject to supply and demand, like other precious metals. Estimates are difficult to produce, but multiple sources report that approximately half of the silver demand occurs from industrial use.
Here are Summaries and Demand Estimates – From the Silver Institute and from Metals Focus:
Virtually every sector is reporting increased demand for silver.
Global Electric Vehicle (EV) sales were 14 million in 2023, which is 35% more than the previous year.
Automotive companies are all announcing their participation in the EV boom:
- Tesla plans to reach 20 million annual EV sales by 2030.
- BMW plans to double the number of EVs it offers to 25 models by 2023, with more than half of them fully electric.
- Daimler-Chrysler will invest $85 billion into EVs between 2021 and 2025.
- Volvo will triple its electric production capacity due to a strong year of EV sales.
Solar Demand for Silver
Estimates from Ember, an energy think tank, show that solar capacity additions in 2024 alone will likely exceed all coal additions since 2010. Globally, solar capacity is estimated to triple by 2030. Considering a third more solar capacity was added in 2024 compared to 2023, these estimates are on track and may even grow exponentially more with the growing need for solar initiatives.
This all seems to point to a sustained and potentially increasing demand for Silver as an industrial metal in the automotive and green energy sectors.
Of course, it’s impossible to forecast demand with 100% certainty. However, governments worldwide’ push for investment in industries that use silver is an encouraging indicator for the silver investor.
