# Silver Industrial Demand 85% of silver demand (1,050M oz/year) comes from industrial applications. This demand is structurally growing and largely inelastic to price. ## Major Industrial Uses Electronics/Electrical (240M oz/year): Conductive paste in solar panels, RFID chips, LED chips, switches and contacts, membrane switches. Why irreplaceable: Best electrical conductor of all metals (6.30 × 10^7 S/m). [[Silver in Solar Panels]] (200M oz/year): Silver paste on photovoltaic cells conducts electricity. Each panel uses ~20 grams. Substitution attempts reduce efficiency 2-5%. Automotive (60M oz/year): EV electronics, traditional car electronics, charging infrastructure. Each EV uses 25-50g vs 15-28g for gas car. Growing with EV adoption. Medical (30M oz/year): Antibacterial wound dressings, surgical instruments, catheters, device coatings. Post-COVID driver: hospital infection control. Brazing/Soldering (50M oz/year): HVAC systems, aerospace components, high-strength joints. ## Why Demand Is Growing Heavy demand through 2030 from cleantech: Solar accelerating (China, US, Europe), EVs replacing combustion engines globally, AI/data centers (new structural demand), 5G infrastructure ongoing. US government added silver to critical minerals list in 2025. ## Why Demand Is Price Inelastic Solar panel example: Panel costs $200-300 to manufacture, contains $2 worth of silver (0.6% of cost). Substituting copper reduces efficiency 2-4%. A 3% efficiency loss costs way more than using silver. Even at $100/oz silver: Silver cost per panel $3.60 (vs $2 currently). Incremental cost $1.60 per panel. Panel sells for $200-300. Manufacturers will pay it rather than lose efficiency. At $150/oz silver, solar manufacturers might reduce content by 10-15% (thinner layers). This saves maybe 30-40M oz/year. Not enough to solve 230M oz deficit. ## The Industrial Floor [[Silver Dual Nature - Industrial and Monetary|Unlike gold]], silver has genuine industrial consumption. 1,050M oz/year is consumed (turned into products), not just held. This creates price floor. Solar panels need silver. Electronics need silver. EVs need silver. They cannot shut down production waiting for cheaper silver. When industrial users cannot secure supply, they bid up [[COMEX Silver Futures]] or pay [[Silver Lease Rates|8.5% lease rates]] to guarantee delivery. This is happening now. ## What It Predicts With 1,050M oz industrial demand and only 1,010M oz total supply, industrial sector alone consumes 104% of supply. Leaves -40M oz for investment demand. Obviously impossible. Industrial users are drawing down COMEX/LBMA inventories, competing with investors for available supply, bidding up [[Silver Swap Rates and Forward Curve|forward contracts at -7.9%]] to lock in future delivery. When industrial demand is structural and growing, investment demand surging, and supply fixed, you get explosive price moves. The [[China Silver Export Restrictions 2026]] made this acute. Industrial users dependent on Chinese refining suddenly face 45+ day approvals with no guarantee. They're panic-buying alternatives at any price. Links: [[Silver MOC]] | [[Silver in Solar Panels]] | [[Why Silver Substitution Fails]] --- #silver #deeptech #cleantech