Silver Prices Spark Automotive Electronics Materials Crisis
Manufacturers of automotive electronics face a pressing issue: how to reduce their reliance on silver without compromising performance or reliability. The recent surge in silver prices has made this challenge more urgent, with prices rising by approximately 160% in 2025 alone.
Heraeus Electronics' Thorsten Vehoff addressed this problem in a presentation at the September 2026 Conference. He introduced Condura .ultra, a silver-free active metal brazing technology that delivers performance comparable to conventional silver-containing AMB substrates.
The presentation also compared different solder interconnects, including SAC305 and IL 2.0. While moving from SAC305 to SAC105 reduces silver content, it comes with a corresponding performance tradeoff. In contrast, IL 2.0 offers a more balanced alternative, maintaining high-reliability performance while reducing silver content to 1.5%.
The reliability tests showed that IL 2.0 outperforms and offers lower material costs than SAC305 at current silver prices. The presentation highlighted the need for manufacturers to carefully evaluate their material selection in order to reduce exposure to precious-metal volatility while preserving the required reliability for next-generation automotive electronics.