VANADIUM 101
Vanadium
Vanadium, element number 23 (V), is a medium-hard, ductile, steel-blue metal. Although a lesser-known metal among a wider audience, vanadium has long been used in the manufacturing industry due to its lightweight, steel-strengthening alloying abilities and corrosion-resistant qualities.
Around 80 percent of the vanadium currently produced is alloyed with iron to make a shock- and corrosion-resistant steel additive called ferrovanadium, according to Jefferson Lab. Additionally, within steel production, vanadium-steel alloys are used to develop extremely tough tools such as axles, armor plates, car gears, springs, cutting tools, piston rods, and crankshafts. The first widespread industrial use for Vanadium was in the steel framework of the Model T Ford in 1905, which allowed for a lighter-weight frame that was also of greater tensile strength. Vanadium alloys can also be used to make nuclear reactors because of their low-neutron-absorbing properties, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Vanadium is now classed as a Critical Mineral by governments around the globe, including Australia, Canada, and the United States. As a critical mineral, Vanadium is listed for priority development and investment.
With the increased use of and demand for renewable energy sources, vanadium can be expected to contribute towards climate action plans, primarily through its use in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.
Jet Engines
When mixed with aluminum and titanium, vanadium can create a very strong alloy that is used for special applications such as dental implants and jet engines.
Vanadium-titanium alloys have the best strength-to-weight ratio of any engineered material on earth
Automobiles
By 2025, it’s estimated that 85 percent of all automobiles in the USA will incorporate vanadium alloy to reduce their weight, thereby increasing their fuel efficiency to conform to stringent fuel economy standards set by the US EPA.
Batteries (VRFB)
Key vanadium application in the US, VRFBs are the most efficient battery technology for utility-scale renewable energy storage for wind, solar and hydro. The main component is a 98% V2O5 electrolyte.
Construction
Vanadium micro-alloyed high strength rebar is a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution for reinforced concrete construction, particularly in the world’s earthquake prone regions.
Smart Glass
Vanadium can be used in the manufacturing of energy-saving smart glass windows, which both prevent thermal radiation from escaping during the winter and prevent infrared radiation from the sun entering in the summer.
Chemical Industry
Chemical applications of vanadium include catalysts, production of dyes, phosphors, ceramic pigments and in producing superconducting magnets. The most important industrial vanadium compound, vanadium pentoxide, is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid.
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VRF Batteries
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are a form of an emerging grid-scale storage technology with significant energy security potential as stated by the US Department of Energy. Offering unique advantages over lithium-ion batteries, VRFB’s store small to large energy projects in a non-flammable, liquid electrolyte which can be recovered and reused. VRFB’s are ideal for renewable energy, and do not degrade with cycling. They hold the promise of 10-hour duration storage, tens of thousands of battery cycles, and even up to 25 years of service life.
A leading alternative to lithium-ion batteries, VRFBs have several significant advantages, including:
- Have a lifespan of 20+ years
- Offer immediate energy release and can be cycled more than once per day
- Suitable for grid connection or off-grid settings – ideal for renewable energy
- Only one element in the electrolyte – V2O5
- Can discharge 100%, without any damage to the battery
- Are non-flammable
- Power and energy can be scaled independently
- Vanadium electrolyte can be reused and does not need to be disposed of
- VRFB energy storage guarantees uninterrupted power supply
Global Vanadium Market
According to Merchant Research & Consulting Ltd, the global vanadium market has come to a certain balance of supply and demand in recent years, and the decline in metal prices has led to renewed interest in researching the production of vanadium redox batteries.
Revised standards of the global vanadium ore market are expected to see increase in global vanadium demand by between 10,000t to 15,000t by 2026, and the global vanadium market size is forecasted for strong growth to be worth approximately US$ 56 billion within the same period.
Demand is conservatively forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6%, reaching 133,000t in 2025, and supply including all idle capacity and expansion of existing primary mines, predicted to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% to 111,000t in 2025.
Learn more about vanadium, its applications, and markets in the March 2023 report by Chris Thompson, Director of Equity Research, eResearch Corporation.
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