Production started in January at Atlantic’s Windimurra mine in Western Australia. Ferrovanadium supply from the mine is expected to account for more than a tenth of world supply, helping turn the corner in a sector dominated by China, South Africa and Russia.
Evraz has ramped up its vanadium operations in recent years with acquisitions and is an important player in the world vanadium market, producing various products.
If vanadium redox batteries for energy storage become the norm, demand for vanadium will surge and current supply is in no shape to meet that demand.
India’s burgeoning steel demand, which is expected to record even bigger growth than China, will lead to unprecedented demand in coming years for Vanadium, a metal primarily used a steel strengthener.
With talk of supply tightening, vanadium suppliers are preparing to expand production. Increased demand has also led to developments in a number of non-traditional vanadium producing countries.
A global shortage in the vanadium market caused by increased vanadium demand in the steel, aerospace and the battery industries could affect the US, a country almost completely dependent on imports of the metal.
Vanadium redox battery are gaining the attention of commercial operations as well as governments as a large scale energy storage solution.
Vanadium redox batteries are less apt than other battery technologies to be used in high-performance electric vehicles, they are better suited as a workhorse for grid-scale energy storage.
The Green Giant Vanadium in Madagascar currently is one of the largest vanadium deposits, though expensive extraction costs may hurt economic viability. But the company remains confident in the potential of their unique deposit.
American Vanadium’s Paul Casey discusses a new electrolyte mix has been found to increase the energy capacity of vanadium redox batteries (VRBs) by as much as 70 percent. The new technology could prove the economic potential of Vanadium Redox Batteries if utilized for integrating solar and wind power into the grid.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012