Silver industrial demand - what's everyone thinking?

• •Been seeing some chatter lately about how much industrial demand is propping up silver, especially with all the green tech initiatives.
• •I’m sitting on about 20% silver in my IRA, which is roughly $80k of my roughly $400k total.
• •Part of me sometimes wonders if that's too exposed to industrial whims.

Been seeing some chatter lately about how much industrial demand is propping up silver, especially with all the green tech initiatives. As someone who's always favored hard assets (comes from years in manufacturing, I guess – there's something tangible about a physical product), silver has been a significant chunk of my precious metals portfolio alongside gold. I’m sitting on about 20% silver in my IRA, which is roughly $80k of my roughly $400k total. Part of me sometimes wonders if that's too exposed to industrial whims.

On one hand, I get the whole "silver is consumed, unlike gold" argument, making it essential for things like solar panels, EVs, and medical devices. That constant demand should theoretically provide a price floor, right? I've run numbers through a few times – actually, used that Gold IRA Calculator not too long ago to see what my IRA's potential value could look like over the next 10-15 years with various gold/silver allocations and different growth rates. With the industrial applications, some of those higher growth projections for silver felt… optimistic but not entirely unreasonable.

But then I hear whispers about potential substitutes or more efficient use of silver in these technologies, which could theoretically reduce demand down the road. Or what if there's a big economic slowdown that tanks manufacturing for a while? That's what gives me pause. I'm in Cleveland, and I've seen firsthand how quickly manufacturing can shift. My exec role keeps me tied into supply chains, so I know things aren't always set in stone.

So, for those of you who are heavy into silver, especially in your IRAs – how are you weighing the industrial demand factor? Are you betting big on continued growth in these sectors, or are you concerned about technological shifts or economic downturns impacting prices? Curious to hear some other perspectives on this, especially from folks who've been in PMs longer than my 8 years or so.