Silver rises over 30% at the start of the year, companies accelerate silver reduction strategies to cope with soaring silver prices

PANews, January 23 – According to CCTV.com, over the past year, silver prices have repeatedly reached new highs, with an increase of over 30% since 2026 alone. As the metal with the best electrical conductivity, silver has a wide range of applications in the industrial sector, among which the demand for silver in the photovoltaic manufacturing field has grown rapidly in recent years. Silver paste, which uses silver as a raw material, can be described as the "circulatory system" of photovoltaic cells, capable of improving the energy conversion efficiency and output performance of photovoltaic cells. According to industry insiders, with the increase in global photovoltaic installations in recent years, the annual demand for silver in the photovoltaic industry has already exceeded 5,000 tons, accounting for one-sixth of the world's annual silver production. A review shows that many listed companies have already begun exploring "de-silverization" and "low-silverization" technologies, with related technologies expected to begin large-scale capacity construction in 2026.