Silver Demand Forecast to Expand Across Key Technology Sectors

According to a new report released today by the Silver Institute, silver will remain an essential component across multiple high-growth sectors as industries race to embrace digital innovation and meet clean energy mandates. The report, “Silver, The Next Generation Metal,” was researched and produced by London-based Oxford Economics, a leading independent economic advisory and consultancy. The report examines three key areas of future growth:

Solar Photovoltaics

As countries worldwide commit to renewable energy transitions and solar installations expand, solar photovoltaic technology is among the most significant and fastest-growing applications of silver demand. This sector alone is expected to continue accounting for a considerable portion of total silver demand. In 2014, only 11 percent of silver industrial demand was consumed in this sector, compared to 29 percent in 2024. Although the global trajectory of PV installations remains strong, technological developments have reduced the amount of silver required in some PV cells. The loss of government subsidies and incentives in certain countries, however, is likely to be offset by ambitious targets in others. For example, the European Union aims to deliver at least 700 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2030, which will assist in silver consumption.

Automotive/Electric Vehicles and their Infrastructure

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is driving substantial increases in silver demand. EVs require significantly more silver than traditional internal combustion vehicles (ICEs), with silver used in various applications, including battery management systems, power electronics, charging infrastructure, and electrical contacts. The shift from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs is expected to boost silver demand significantly; EVs, especially battery-electric vehicles, consume, on average, 67-79 percent more silver than ICE vehicles, with approximately 25-50 grams of silver per EV.

The report forecasts global automotive silver demand to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent between 2025 and 2031. The rapid increase in EV demand and production means that EV vehicles will overtake ICE vehicles as the primary source of automotive silver demand by 2027, and account for 59 percent of the market by 2031, according to Oxford Economics. Additionally, electrifying the automotives increases silver demand due to the parallel need to expand charging infrastructure.

Data Centers and Artificial Intelligence

Data centers are providing the physical infrastructure needed to run cloud computing services, store and manage data, and, increasingly, power AI systems. As digitalization and AI adoption accelerate, so does the demand for critical minerals, such as silver, used in their applications. The report estimates that total global information technology (IT) power capacity increased by approximately 53 times, from 0.93 GW in 2000 to nearly 50 GW in 2025. Even in the absence of precise silver-loading data, the link is clear: a 5,252% increase in IT power demand translates into more computing hardware and, consequently, greater demand for silver.

Governments worldwide are prioritizing data centers as critical infrastructure, rolling out policies that streamline regulation and provide incentives such as grants, tax breaks, and fast-track approvals. Initiatives in the US, UK, EU, and China aim to attract large-scale private investment, reduce barriers, and expand capacity to meet the rising demand for AI and cloud services—ultimately driving growth in materials like silver.

Looking forward, the acceleration of digitalization and the widespread adoption of AI are expected to continue gathering pace, placing growing demands on both digital and physical infrastructure. As AI applications diversify into media production, design, and simulation, demand for servers’ processing power and, by extension, data center infrastructure is expected to continue growing.

The report states that as the world continues the transition toward electrification, renewable energy, and the adoption of AI, silver is poised to play a pivotal role as a “next generation metal” across industries central to the green energy transition and digital transformation over the coming decade.

A complimentary copy of the report can be downloaded here.

The Silver Institute is the voice of the silver industry in increasing public awareness of silver’s vital role in today’s world, particularly in the growing adoption of green technologies. Its mandates are to provide the global market with reliable statistics and information on silver and to create and execute programs that help drive silver demand. For more information on silver or the Silver Institute, please visit www.silverinstitute.org. 

Oxford Economics was founded in 1981 as a commercial venture with Oxford University’s business college to provide economic forecasting and modelling to UK companies and financial institutions expanding abroad. Since then, they have become one of the world’s foremost independent global advisory firms, providing reports, forecasts, and analytical tools on more than 200 countries, 100 industries, and 8,000 cities and regions. For more information, visit www.oxfordeconomics.com