Longi Green Energy, a very large solar photovoltaic (PV) company, said this week it is developing the capacity to manufacture its products using base metals such as copper.
The move is a response to the price of silver which rose by more than 130% in 2025, according to Time Weekly. Longi expects to begin mass production with base metals in the second quarter of this year.
Oil is gradually ceding its position as the world’s most important energy resource, Chinese energy observers have noted. In its place are arriving critical minerals needed for manufacturing clean tech.
PV modules typically use silver-based conductive pastes. Such paste replaced silicon as the most expensive ingredient in PV modules at the beginning of 2025, according to Gantanhao Technology, a WeChat-based carbon industry channel.
As well as announcing price increases because of the rising silver price, several PV companies have begun exploring using lower-cost ingredients, mainly base metals such as copper and aluminium. Century New Energy Network identified Trina Solar and Jinko Solar as well as Longi Green Energy.
Silver is important in the global transition towards clean energy. Besides solar panels, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure also consume significant amounts.
Last month, the global price of one ounce of silver exceeded that of one barrel of crude oil, for only the third time in history.
WeChat energy channel Global Net-Zero said the sharp rise symbolises that “the old energy pricing system represented by oil is loosening, and new energy and strategic metals are entering the ranks of core assets.”
High silver prices push Chinese solar panel companies towards other metals