How Much Silver Demand Comes From Solar Panels and Industry Today?
Direct answer
Silver demand, 2025 (World Silver Survey 2026)
Most of it. The World Silver Survey 2026, produced by Metals Focus for the Silver Institute, puts total silver demand in 2025 at 1,130.6 million ounces, of which industrial uses took 657.4 million ounces, about 58%. Photovoltaics, the silver paste in solar cells, used 186.6 million ounces, about 16.5% of all demand and 28% of industrial demand. That share has risen from about 10% in 2017, but 2025 was the first decline after a record 197.5 million ounces in 2024, because manufacturers are using less silver per cell. The survey forecasts solar demand down another 19% in 2026, even as the market stays in deficit.
- Total demand: 1,130.6 million ounces, down 2%
- Industrial: 657.4 Moz, about 58% of demand, down 3%
- Photovoltaics: 186.6 Moz, 16.5% of demand, down 6% from the 2024 record
- 2026 forecast: PV 151.0 Moz, down 19%
- Fifth straight deficit in 2025: 40.3 Moz
Silver is two markets in one metal: a precious metal people buy as bars and coins, and an industrial input that goes into electronics, cars and, increasingly, solar panels. Knowing the split explains why silver often behaves like neither gold nor copper.
What people on X are asking
In July 2025 one investor wrote that industrial uses now account for about 58% of global silver demand, up from about half in 2016, and that each solar panel needs 0.6 to 1 ounce of silver. In December 2025 a bullion dealer shared the Silver Institute's outlook, highlighting AI, data centres and cars as drivers of industrial silver demand. And in August 2026 another account claimed data-centre silver use could exceed 10% of electrical and electronics demand. The 58% figure checks out for 2025. The per-panel figure varies a lot with panel size and technology, and we could not verify the data-centre claim in the survey text.
The fact-checked answer
The 2025 numbers. The World Silver Survey 2026 reports that total silver demand fell 2% in 2025 to 1,130.6 million ounces (Moz), the lowest since 2021. Industrial demand fell 3% to 657.4 Moz, its first decline of the post-pandemic era, led by a contraction in photovoltaic demand. Coin and bar demand rose 14%, partly offsetting weaker jewellery and silverware.
Silver demand, million ounces (World Silver Survey 2026)
Data from the Silver Supply and Demand table in the World Silver Survey 2026 (Metals Focus for the Silver Institute). Shares computed by UXS. Tap a column header to sort.
| 2017 | 971.5 | 528.0 | 99.3 | 10.2% | 54.3% |
| 2020 | 929.0 | 511.9 | 82.8 | 8.9% | 55.1% |
| 2022 | 1,284.1 | 592.3 | 118.1 | 9.2% | 46.1% |
| 2023 | 1,197.0 | 657.1 | 192.7 | 16.1% | 54.9% |
| 2024 | 1,157.4 | 679.0 | 197.5 | 17.1% | 58.7% |
| 2025 | 1,130.6 | 657.4 | 186.6 | 16.5% | 58.1% |
| 2026 forecast | 1,112.6 | 639.6 | 151.0 | 13.6% | 57.5% |
Why solar demand jumped, then turned. Solar installations boomed after 2022, and PV silver use rose from 118 Moz in 2022 to 193 Moz in 2023. But silver is a big cost in a cell, so manufacturers keep cutting how much they use, known as thrifting, and switching to technologies and pastes that need less. The survey notes that higher silver prices accelerated thrifting and substitution, and its 2026 forecast has PV demand falling 19% to 151 Moz, which drags overall industrial demand down 3% for a second year.
UXS decision diagram
Will solar keep pushing silver demand up?
Text version of the diagram
- Are global solar installations still growing? If no: PV silver demand falls with installations
- Is silver per cell falling more slowly than installations are rising? If no: Thrifting wins: PV demand falls even in a boom (the 2025–2026 pattern)
- Are high silver prices not speeding up substitution? If no: Price itself reduces demand
- Otherwise: PV silver demand rises
Diagram drawn by UXS. A simplified decision aid for education, not a recommendation.
Supply is the other side. Mine production was 846.6 Moz in 2025, up 3%, and recycling adds more. Even so, the survey reports a fifth consecutive annual deficit, 40.3 Moz in 2025, and a squeeze in London in October 2025 as metal moved into CME vaults and exchange-traded products. A deficit means demand exceeded new supply, met from existing stocks; it does not guarantee rising prices, as our page on why silver prices crashed in 2026 shows.
What it means for price. Because more than half of demand is industrial, silver tends to fall harder than gold in recessions and to rally with manufacturing and investment flows. The industrial share also makes the gold-silver ratio swing widely. Investors still drive the biggest short-term moves through coins, bars and ETFs.
Quick poll
What do you think matters most for silver over the next few years?
What each answer means
- Solar installations: Important, but thrifting is cutting silver per panel faster than many expected.
- Electronics, cars and AI hardware: Electrical and electronics demand, which includes solar, fell 2% in 2025 as grid, car and AI gains did not offset weaker PV.
- Investment demand: Coins and bars rose 14% in 2025; investment flows move prices fastest.
- Mine supply: Supply rose in 2025; deficits still ran down stocks.
Your answer is stored only in this browser (localStorage). UXS does not collect, count or publish votes, so no totals are shown.
Decision helper
| If you are betting on | Watch |
|---|---|
| Solar-led demand | Installations and silver per cell (thrifting) |
| Industrial cycle | Manufacturing data, grid spending and autos |
| Investment demand | ETF holdings, coin and bar sales |
| Supply tightness | Deficit size and London vault stocks |
Related reading: what moves platinum prices, what moves copper prices and gold ETFs vs physical gold.
Common mistakes
- Assuming solar demand can only grow.
- Quoting per-panel silver figures without a date or technology.
- Treating a market deficit as a guaranteed price rise.
- Ignoring that investors, not industry, drive short-term moves.
FAQ
What percentage of silver is used in solar panels?
About 16.5% of total demand in 2025, or 186.6 million ounces.
How much silver demand is industrial?
About 58% in 2025: 657.4 of 1,130.6 million ounces.
Is solar silver demand still rising?
It fell 6% in 2025 and is forecast to fall 19% in 2026 as manufacturers use less per cell.
What is silver thrifting?
Reducing the amount of silver used per product, such as per solar cell, to save cost.
Is the silver market in deficit?
Yes. 2025 was the fifth straight deficit, at 40.3 million ounces.
Who publishes silver demand data?
The Silver Institute's World Silver Survey, compiled by Metals Focus.
Sources
- Silver Institute / Metals Focus: World Silver Survey 2026 (PDF)
- Silver Institute: Silver supply and demand
- World Bank: Commodity markets (Pink Sheet)
Facts checked November 10, 2026. X posts are cited as evidence of the question, not of the answer.