A Precious Metal Trend in Infrastructure Improvements

Recycle Precious MetalsRecycling and RefiningSmelting and Refining
Written By Barry Lenson

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

If the bill passes and those processes begin, a number of older electronic devices and other pieces of technology that contain circuit boards and gold are about to land on the scrap heap. Alert precious metal investors will be able to buy them, recycle them, and make money.

But there is another infrastructure improvement that is taking place right now. You should know about it . . .

Tremendous numbers of charging stations for electric cars are being built across our nation and continent

We became vividly aware of this trend recently when we took a drive from Boston to New York on a busy Sunday afternoon. At every rest stop, we saw a backup of Teslas and other electric cars that were lined up to recharge – at some rest plazas, we saw as many as 10 cars waiting to plugin.

Clearly, there are not enough charging posts to serve the demand, a fact that is documented by these statistics . . .

  • 727,000 all-electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. in the year 2020. Source: USAFacts.com

  • 5.4 million gas/electric hybrids have also been sold. Granted, these cars can be operated on gas alone – they do not need to plug in and recharge – but that high sales figure could indicate a coming surge in the sales of all-electric vehicles. Source: USAFacts.com

  • 40,582 charging stations have already been installed in the U.S. Plus, another 97,589 plug-in devices (like those that individual owners of electric cars install in their garages and driveways) are in place. Their number is sure to increase as the number of electric vehicles increases. Source: Statistica.com

  • Annual sales of electric vehicles will exceed 3.5 million vehicles in 2030, reaching more than 20 percent of annual vehicle sales. And sales are expected to total 1.4 million in 2025. Source: Christenseninstitute.org

  • Hydrogen fuel cell cars are on the way too. Currently, they are only being sold in California and Hawaii. But they are on the way. And each of them will have to be fueled up at a modern hydrogen-filling facility

So, What Opportunities Will These Trends Create for Precious Metal Investors?

For the most part, the result will be the manufacture and installation of tens of thousands of new recharging stations across our country. At first, that will not mean an increasing quantity of precious metal scrap because we are talking about new installations. However, the time could soon come when older charging devices will be updated and replaced by newer and more efficient changing pillars. As they are added and older devices are scrapped, the components they contain – printed circuit boards and other internal components – could land on the scrap heap.

So be aware, follow the trends, and be ready to move quickly as older charging equipment becomes available.

And when you obtain older electronic scrap from them, remember that your convenient, one-step resource for recycling them will be us, Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners. And keep our number handy – 800-426-2344.

We will be here when you are ready to recycle – and make money – from this emerging trend.  

Barry Lenson
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