Vanadium

Vanadium is an important strategic metal found on most of Energy Fuels’ mineral properties.

Vanadium is primarily used in high-strength steel and titanium alloys. In addition, emerging battery technologies are being developed that utilize vanadium.

Most of the World’s vanadium is now produced in China, Russia, and South Africa. Currently, the United States is nearly 100% dependent on foreign sources of vanadium-pentoxide (V2O5).

In southwest Colorado and southeast Utah, uranium and vanadium are often contained in the same sandstones as co-mingled minerals. Therefore, uranium producers in this region, including Energy Fuels, typically produce vanadium as well as uranium, with no additional mining cost.

Energy Fuels’ Piñon Ridge Mill will include a vanadium circuit to extract vanadium from the mill feed.

Steel

Approximately 92% of vanadium is used in steel alloys. By adding vanadium to steel, excellent strength-to-weight ratios are achieved in a cost-effective manner.

Vanadium also increases steel’s resistance to salt, acid, and alkali corrosion. In developing countries, growth in consumption of vanadium is far outpacing overall growth in steel consumption, because of the shift to higher strength, high-vanadium steels.

Steel with vanadium is used in skyscrapers, bridges, buildings, and reinforced concrete. In addition, steel with vanadium is used in high speed tools and surgical instruments.

Aerospace

Steel and titanium alloys with vanadium are particularly suitable for use in the aerospace industry in airframes, jet engines and other applications. Recent advances have produced vanadium alloys that are both super-light and super-strong. In fact, vanadium-titanium alloys have the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any engineered material on Earth.

Batteries

The unique properties of vanadium make it particularly appropriate for use in large capacity batteries. “Vanadium-Redox” technology appears particularly suitable for large-scale storage of energy produced from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. These batteries can store large quantities of energy and can be charged and recharged repeatedly without reducing performance.

Lithium-Ion batteries with vanadium are another battery technology showing great promise, especially in hybrid and electric vehicles. These batteries provide greater performance and power than existing batteries used in electric vehicles, allowing for greater safety and range. These batteries could also be used in smaller applications, including cell phones, tablets, and lap top computers.

Other Uses:

Vanadium also has important applications in superconductors, nuclear reactors, and ceramics.