Silver's Dual Identity: The Energy Transition, The Great Divergence, and Taiwan's Strategic Challenge

Silver's Dual Identity: The Energy Transition, The Great Divergence, and Taiwan's Strategic Challenge | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Silver's Dual Identity: The Energy Transition, The Great Divergence, and Taiwan's Strategic Challenge Kung-Ming Lan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8565780/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper investigates the structural transformation of the global silver market, analyzing its paradigm shift from a primarily financial asset to a critical industrial material essential for the 21st-century energy transition. By synthesizing recent market data from 2024 and 2025, this study identifies a novel market phenomenon termed ''The Great Divergence,'' characterized by a simultaneous rise in global visible inventories and spot prices---a significant deviation from traditional supply-demand equilibrium models described in resource economics. We argue that this anomaly signals a ''strategic repricing'' of silver, reflecting its elevation to a matter of energy security. Furthermore, this paper applies this global framework to a comprehensive case study of Taiwan, an island economy with inelastic, policy-driven demand for silver in its photovoltaic (PV), electric vehicle (EV), and grid modernization sectors. The findings suggest that Taiwan faces a compounded risk profile: physical import dependency exacerbated by economic vulnerability to structural price inflation. We conclude by proposing a strategic pivot from ''Just-in-Time'' (JIT) procurement to ''Just-in-Case'' (JIC) stockpiling and technological innovation to mitigate these existential risks. Critical Minerals The Great Divergence Energy Transition Resource Nationalism Taiwan’s Energy Security Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8565780","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":581368836,"identity":"f66e8db8-ca5f-4540-91a2-94b59efe1c2d","order_by":0,"name":"Kung-Ming Lan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQbmBgaGCoYECIc4LYxALWcMYFoMiNTC2EaKFslpBxs/F877k2dwgPngbR6GP4kNhLRISyc2S8/cZlBscIAt2ZqHwYCwFjnpxAZp3m0GiRsO8JhJA7XkEqOl+TfvHJAW/m/EaQE6rE2atwFsCxtxWiRnJ7ZZ8xwzTpx5mM3Yco6BcT1BLRK3kw/f5qmRS+w73vzwxpsKOWNCOpAAM4ggIlpGwSgYBaNgFBABAF/pN5DB/Hu/AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Tunghai University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kung-Ming","middleName":"","lastName":"Lan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-10 05:23:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8565780/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8565780/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101398571,"identity":"ab451d6e-35b2-46c1-87ad-55a79c8ed6ab","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-29 09:42:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2598552,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SilversDualMineralEconomics20260110.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8565780/v1_covered_f34d03dc-1ddc-418c-bc4a-16e4841b063b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Silver's Dual Identity: The Energy Transition, The Great Divergence, and Taiwan's Strategic Challenge","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Critical Minerals, The Great Divergence, Energy Transition, Resource Nationalism, Taiwan’s Energy Security","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8565780/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8565780/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper investigates the structural transformation of the global silver market, analyzing its paradigm shift from a primarily financial asset to a critical industrial material essential for the 21st-century energy transition. 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