Date: Nov 2, 2018
Vanadium is a rare chemical element. It is soft, silvery grey, ductile transition metal. The compound is available in chemically combined forms, which occurs naturally in about 65 different minerals and fossil fuel deposits. In addition, vanadium is also produced by the flue dust of heavy oil or as a by-product of uranium mining. The vanadium compounds market is currently witnessing an upsurge with soaring applications of the product.
Surge in Demand for Vanadium Batteries to Propel Growth
The vanadium redox battery (VRB), also known as the vanadium flow battery (VFB) or vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), is a type of rechargeable flow battery that employs vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store chemical potential energy. The main advantages of the vanadium redox battery are that it can offer almost unlimited energy capacity simply by using larger electrolyte storage tanks.
Vanadium-based flow energy storage systems can operate forever. The active ingredient is a low-cost, rechargeable electrolyte, which never wears out due to the type of chemical reaction involved. The electronics and software to manage the system can be easily upgraded like any computer. Setting up a Vanadium storage manufacturing facility is simple and very low cost — orders of magnitude less expensive than the proposed Gigafactory. The production process is also simple, and ecologically safe. This is a key factor driving the vanadium compounds market in the coming years.
