Solid State Batteries: Silver's Innovative New Application

A brand new solid state battery designed for electric vehicles has been recently announced by Samsung. With a 600-mile range, a twenty year lifespan and a capability of charging from 10% or 20% to 80% of full capacity within a mere nine minutes, the revolutionary technology is set to be a game changer not only for the viability of sustainable automobiles, but for silver investors as well, reveals Oliver Taylor.
 

Silver is an asset that is rapidly diminishing in supply because whereas gold is constantly recycled, silver is a byproduct of mining other metals and large amounts of it are either lost through use, or dumped into a landfill. As geopolitical tensions continue to flare up between BRICS and Western powers, countries around the world may consider procuring strategic silver stockpiles to safeguard their economies in anticipation of a separation between the BRICS alliance with Western financial systems, governments and central banks. The leading silver producing countries include Peru, Russia, Mexico and China, although the United States currently has a small silver stockpile when compared with other BRICS nations.
 

PHENOMENAL EFFICIENCY

Being approximately 79% reliant on silver imports for industrial requirements, the time window for the United States (and frankly, other Western nations) to acquire enormous amounts of the grey metal at relatively cheap prices might soon be closing. The silver market is in deficit because of industrial demand which comes primarily from solar panel manufacturers, and the annual consumption of silver is always higher than the supply. This comes at a time when the biggest ever news to hit silver and technology industries dawns upon us, in the development of a civilisational-shifting breakthrough.
 

With an ordinary battery like the one you have in your car, there is a liquid electrolyte that energises ions- and this is what causes power. With a solid state battery there is no liquid, but instead you will find a solid core which can be smaller, with greater density and energy efficiency. At the SNE Battery Day 2024 Expo in Seoul, the world was given a glimpse of true sustainability and at what could be one of the most important elements to fundamentally charge and underpin a futuristic economy. Silver’s unique properties make it ideal for many EV components. Its excellent conductivity, corrosion resistance and thermal management capabilities, make it a vital component in the production of high-performance EV batteries.
 

As a name that is now synonymous with innovation and technological prowess, Samsung and their latest electric vehicle battery has the potential to become the lifeblood of electric mobility, propelling us into a bright future of zero emissions and endless possibilities. Driving range anxiety is a real concern for many electric vehicle buyers, but Samsung’s new Silver EV battery could open us up to a future where you could drive from New York to Miami, making pit stops only for coffee and doughnuts- and not due to the requirement of having to charge your car. Boasting a significantly longer lifespan than its counterparts, the Samsung Silver EV battery would ensure that total costs of owning an electric vehicle are dramatically reduced, while enabling drivers to travel far longer distances on a single charge.
 

In a world where time is a priceless commodity, the ability to rapidly recharge is extremely valuable, while the durability and long lifespan of the battery, presents a long-term investment in sustainable mobility that provides tremendous value for money. Samsung’s oxide solid-state battery technology delivers an energy density of 500 Wh/kg, which is almost double that of mainstream EV batteries.

Moreover, the potential with these batteries means this figure could even double to 1000 Wh/kg with certain improvements added to the way they operate. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Samsung’s development in this realm could completely shift the direction of the automobile industry within the next decade. This would be a worthy successor to the replacement of diesel engines and there is no reason why every automobile manufacturer on Earth would not want to utilise this technology. With the potential to outstrip all other battery components, this breakthrough is almost as big as the discovery of the combustion engine.
 

Commodity investing expert Kevin Bambrough, made a rather interesting discovery pertaining to current demand pressures on silver. Samsung’s revolutionary battery technology incorporates a silver-carbon (Ag-C) composite layer in its anode, allowing for a higher energy density, which stores a lot more power in a smaller amount of space than with other EV battery technologies. With each battery cell potentially needing up to five grams of silver, the typical requirement for a 100 kWh car battery pack would be one kilogram per vehicle.
 

With key drivers such as drastically improved battery life, charge times, range and safety increasing electric vehicle adoption due to this new technology, and with global automobile output standing at approximately 80 million vehicles per annum, it would take just 20% of these automobiles adopting Samsung’s new solid-state battery to require an estimated 16,000 metric tons of silver- and this would all be depleted and used in the production of only 16 million new electric vehicles.

What is even more startling is that when you consider that current global silver production is approximately only 25,000 metric tons per year, the realisation of an exciting new electric vehicle industry powered by Samsung’s new technology, would deplete a significant proportion of the world’s silver assets before any other industrial application can even be considered! This would take 67% of all the annual global mining of silver from current supply levels. How will the solar, aerospace, military, jewellery, and robotics manufacturers respond to being sidelined? The pressure exerted on the price of this asset in order to simply compensate for the insatiable demand by industry, would be immense.
 

EV BATTERIES REQUIRE MORE SILVER

The major bottleneck however is infrastructure, and 600 kW (or faster) fast chargers will need to be retrofitted to support the development of this technology. Solid State batteries are about three to four times more expensive to produce than Lithium-ion batteries, with Samsung planning only to allocate to premium electric vehicles for the next few years. They have signed an agreement with Toyota and will begin mass production of the batteries in 2027, with Lexus vehicles scheduled to become the first cars to integrate the new technology. This is when we may truly feel shockwaves in a disrupted silver market, due to the combination of several factors which are all extremely bullish for the metal.

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Battery makers that understand the significance of this breakthrough in technology, are very likely to begin accumulating and stockpiling silver at current affordable prices- before others begin doing the same. The silver supply has already been forecast to run out from the COMEX depositories in 2025, because of surging demand from military, aerospace, solar power, electronics and many other industries. With a greater need for silver for solid state batteries, technological advancements in the automobile industry alone, will further exacerbate the supply-demand imbalance, as companies begin ramping up silver inventories now to ensure that they have enough for production for 2027.

 

Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and GM, are already testing their own prototypes for solid state batteries. Indeed, the silver market seems to be poised for a significant supply crunch that has not yet been fully reflected in its price. All of these variables ultimately make the case for silver investment a no-brainer today. After all, investing in the asset which will power our future economy is now not only a financially prudent decision— it’s good also for the environment!   EG