Date: Oct 30, 2018
October 29, 2018 (Source) — United Battery Metals Corp. (CSE: UBM, OTC PINK: UBMCF, FWB: 0UL) (“United Battery Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the following commodities update regarding the vanadium market.
During 2018, the vanadium spot price has risen from $10 (U.S.) per pound up to approximately $30 (U.S.) per pound, making vanadium the highest performing among the battery metals sector. Numerous factors such as the Chinese implementation of new building code requirements, which increases the need for high-strength steel, have led to this increase. China, the world’s largest vanadium producer, has now become a net importer of vanadium. Although the majority of global vanadium output is currently used in strengthening steel, many experts predict that the deployment of vanadium flow batteries (VFB’s) in large-scale energy storage applications over the next five years will significantly increase the demand for vanadium.
Vanadium is growing in importance for key industrial sectors, in particular steel and renewable energy. Currently, most of the world’s vanadium is used in steel manufacturing applications. Its importance to the energy sector is also growing rapidly with vanadium being used in energy storage applications where its substantial cost and performance benefits make it a superior choice to lithium-ion batteries in several areas. As technology further develops, the amount of vanadium that will be required for energy storage in vanadium flow batteries is also expected to significantly increase.
