The global vanadium alloy market can be segmented based on type, end-user industry, and region. Based on type, the vanadium alloy market can be divided into ferrovanadium, vanadium titanium, vanadium pentoxide, and others. Ferrovanadium is an alloy of vanadium and iron. Most of vanadium is used to manufacture ferrovanadium, which is further employed in the manufacture of steel. Ferrovanadium strengthens steel, so that the latter can be used in wide range of applications such as automobiles and pipelines. Another important vanadium alloy is vanadium titanium. This alloy is stronger than commercially pure titanium, while having the same thermal properties and stiffness as titanium. Its ability to withstand extreme temperatures makes it an important component in industries such as aerospace. Vanadium oxidizes at around 660°C to become vanadium pentoxide. It does not absorb neutrons easily; hence, it is employed in nuclear power and energy storage batteries. Other vanadium alloys include chromium-based vanadium alloys.
Based on end-user industry, the vanadium alloy market can be segregated into transport, chemicals, energy, and others. Vanadium alloy is used in automotives, ships, and aircraft in the transport segment to reduce their weight and increase efficiency, while simultaneously making them stronger. Corrosion-resistant properties of vanadium alloy make it ideal for usage in tubes and pipes to carry chemicals. However, key usage of vanadium alloy is likely to be in the energy industry. It can be employed in a wide range of environment-friendly power generation and storage technologies, viz. nuclear power generation and vanadium redox flow batteries, respectively. Concerns regarding global warming and climate change have increased over the last few years. Governments are promoting the use of environment-friendly energy technologies. Vanadium redox flow battery is one such technology. Vanadium alloy is used for large scale energy storage applications. Certain countries such as Japan have stared adopting vanadium-based energy storage technologies on a large scale.
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