TELF AG examines the role of silver in the global energy transition
A resource with unique capabilities
“Critical” minerals have managed to conquer important spaces within the political and programmatic agendas of governments, bodies, and institutions in every corner of the world, finding an apparent centrality due to their industrial applications linked to the production of green technologies. Two rapidly growing sectors, electric vehicles and renewable energy (primarily solar and wind), need large quantities of these mineral resources to continue producing large amounts of clean energy. Some of these raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite, find concrete application spaces in particular fields, such as those linked to the manufacturing of electric vehicles. In contrast, others (such as copper, nickel, manganese, and rare earths) can also be successfully used by other sectors, such as all those directly involved in creating green technologies.
There is silver among the resources that the automotive and renewable sectors can use. This precious metal boasts the highest thermal conductivity and electrical power of all the other metals. These structural characteristics make it particularly attractive for industry and, in particular, for the renewable energy sector. In addition to its use in electronics, silver is now used to produce photovoltaic cells, i.e., constituent elements that form solar panels. Together with silicon, in a certain sense, silver represents one of the most important elements for the creation and functioning of these devices, which are capable of capturing solar energy and transforming it into energy. The conductive abilities of silver, specifically, are used in the back and front parts of the panels to maximize the properties of this precious resource.
Increases in demand
One of silver’s strengths in this specific sector is its electrical resistance, which at standard temperatures is the lowest among all other metals. This characteristic makes it much more advantageous than other possible resources, especially for the energy produced for each single panel. Furthermore, silver would guarantee solar panels last longer and boast a much greater overall reliability than similar resources.
Like all the other strategic materials involved in the great global ecological transition, silver is also characterized by a constant increase in demand. In fact, according to a recent World Bank report, the consumption of silver in energy technologies could even double by 2050, in particular due to the parallel increase in solar panel installations globally. It is not surprising that almost all of the rise in demand for silver, as stated in the report, is due precisely to the growing global diffusion of renewable sources linked to solar energy, which just last year reached unprecedented levels.
According to a recent McKinsey report, solar and wind energy will represent the largest share of the global energy mix by 2040, and next year, renewable energies could already become the largest source of global electricity production.
