Demand Boom Expected for Silver in Industrial Application; Other Silver News

Demand for silver for brazing and soldering applications is expected to expand by 23% by 2030.

This is one of several silver-related stories in the latest edition of Silver News published by the Silver Institute.

Brazing and soldering alloys used 47.7 million ounces of silver in 2021. That represented about 9.1% of the total industrial demand for silver. By 2030, the Silver Institute projects various industries will use some 58.8 million ounces of silver for brazing and soldering.

Over the last decade, nearly a half-billion ounces of silver have been consumed in brazing and soldering.

The report notes that the main growth in silver’s use in these applications will come from “future global infrastructure growth, including increasing plumbing and pipe joining, strong vehicle demand (both internal combustion engines and electric vehicles).” Increased demand will also come from the electronics market, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

The latest edition of Silver News also highlights some other fascinating technological advances utilizing the white metal, along with some developments in the silver market. Here are some highlights.

• New York-based Global X has launched the first ETF in Europe to provide investors an opportunity to target the silver mining industry, company officials say. “Precious metals such as silver often have a unique appeal for investors in periods of rising geopolitical instability given their potential as defensive assets due to their low correlations to traditional risk assets,” a spokesperson for Global X said.
• German engineers have designed a way to automate the production of silver nanoparticles between 3 and 5 nanometers with consistent size and shape, to within 100 billionths of a meter. Silver nanoparticles are a highly sought-after material because of their antibacterial properties, use in sensors, and as catalysts for chemical processes, among other applications. One impediment to their even greater usage is that producing large amounts of silver nanoparticles with uniform sizes and shapes presents a challenge.
• There’s a new book out that is extremely bullish on silver. Former portfolio adviser and 20-year veteran of the resource market Peter Krauth decided to publish his book, The Great Silver Bull: Crush Inflation and Profit as the Dollar Dies, when he saw that governments were rolling out stimulus packages in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Tennessee has become the latest US state to eliminate sales tax on gold and silver bullion coins. The Volunteer State was the 42nd state to repeal taxes on bullion.