FYI for those invested in the Silver space.
New research from UNSW in Australia outlines the need for solar cell and module makers to reduce or eliminate the use of silver in their products. Based on expected PV growth, in line with climate change commitments, solar manufacturers would require at least 85% of global silver reserves, according to the new study.
Solar cells use silver to conduct the electric charge out of the cell and into the system. Each cell produced today requires just a few milligrams of the precious metal, but this quickly adds up and plenty of recent studies have illustrated how the rapidly growing solar industry could exhaust much of the world’s known silver reserves by 2050 or even earlier.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/01/06/why-solar-needs-to-slim-down-on-silver/
Obviously they are trying to reduce dependency on silver and find a cheaper alternative (e.g., copper). However, I would think there is a way to go before this happens. The above, imo, is particularly relevant when considered in the context of Ember's recent global electricity report:
The carbon intensity of global electricity generation fell to a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh in 2022, the cleanest-ever electricity. This was due to record growth in wind and solar, which reached a 12% share in the global electricity mix, up from 10% in 2021. Together, all clean electricity sources (renewables and nuclear) reached 39% of global electricity, a new record high. Solar generation rose by 24%, making it the fastest-growing electricity source for 18 years in a row.https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/global-electricity-review-2023/
Take-away: the supply and demand equation is looking very positive for silver producers.
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