Silver plays a vital role in the production of solar cells that produce electricity.

Silver’s use in photovoltaics Photovoltaic (PV) power is the leading current source of green electricity. It is of note that, despite COVID disruption, the PV market proved its resilience in 2020. Newly added solar capacity saw further growth, with the total estimated to have surpassed 130GW for the first time ever. Silver’s use in photovoltaics increased to 140.3 Moz of silver in 2022.

How is silver used in solar cells? Silver powder is turned into a paste which is then loaded onto a silicon wafer. When light strikes the silicon, electrons are set free and the silver – the world’s best conductor – carries the electricity for immediate use or stores it in batteries for later consumption.