Vanadium: Characteristics
How a tiny dose makes steel far stronger
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 110,000 t V (2025e), down from 118,000 t | China produced 82,000 t, Russia 21,000 t, Brazil 5,300 t and South Africa 5,000 t (down from 8,050 t). Most Chinese and Russian output is a co-product of steelmaking from titanomagnetite ore. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | US industry stocks about 240 t V (end-2025); no exchange stocks | That is a small fraction of US use. Stocks of V2O5 and ferrovanadium sit with producers, traders and Chinese mills and are not published. Vanadium electrolyte held in flow batteries is a new, growing form of stock. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | No global figure in the sources used. Co-product output is set by Chinese and Russian steel mills' iron output rather than vanadium demand. Largo's Maracas mine in Brazil recovered 80.1% of vanadium in 2025. | USGS MCS 2026; Largo via content_v2 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | China 68.5%, top-3 94.4% (China, Russia, South Africa), HHI 5,127 (2024) | Pangang (Panzhihua), HBIS Chengsteel, EVRAZ, Largo (9,150 t V2O5 equivalent, 2025), Glencore Rhovan and Bushveld Vametco are the main producers. Australia holds the largest reserves (10,000 kt) but produced nothing in 2025. | World Mining Data 2026; USGS MCS 2026; content_v2 |
| Supply elasticity | low: about 85% of supply is a co-product of iron and steel | Co-product supply cannot rise with vanadium prices unless more titanomagnetite iron is made. Primary mines and secondary recovery from spent catalysts and fly ash respond over several years. | companionality via briefs (85%); USGS MCS 2026 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | Australian primary projects (none producing in 2025); flow-battery demand growing | Australia's large reserves are the main source of new non-Chinese supply, but no Australian mine produced in 2025. Named project capacities and CapEx were not found in the sources used. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Logistics and export flows | ferrovanadium exports $0.49 billion (2023); China 27.8%, South Africa 24.3%, Korea 10.7% | The US (14.1%), Germany (11.4%) and Japan (7.9%) lead imports. US ferrovanadium imports come from Canada (50%) and Austria (35%), which process imported slag and residues. US tariffs of 50% on Brazilian high-purity vanadium from August 2025 disrupted aerospace supply. | UN Comtrade 2023-24 (HS 720292); USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity
Vanadium is used mostly at 0.05-0.15% in steel, where vanadium carbonitride particles refine grain and raise strength, cutting the steel needed in rebar and beams. It is traded as V2O5 and ferrovanadium, priced per pound or kilogram of V. High-purity oxide is needed for flow-battery electrolyte and titanium aerospace alloys.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| V2O5 grade | 98% V2O5 flake or powder (Chinese benchmark, about $5.02/lb in 2025) | The benchmark traded intermediate; battery and aerospace buyers pay more for 99.5% and above | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Ferrovanadium | FeV80: 78-82% V (US price $14.14/lb V in 2025); FeV50 also traded | Standard alloy additions for steel; nitrided vanadium (VN) is used in Chinese rebar | USGS MCS 2026; ASTM A102 |
| Strengthening effect | about 0.05-0.15% V in HSLA rebar and beams (indicative) | Lets Chinese and Indian rebar meet 500 MPa grades with less carbon and better weldability | industry practice (indicative); content_v2 uses |
| Melting point and density | 1,910 C; 6.0 g/cm3 | Ti-6Al-4V aerospace alloy (4% V) depends on vanadium for strength-to-weight | CRC Handbook; ASTM B265 (Ti-6Al-4V) |
| Multiple oxidation states | V2+, V3+, V4+ and V5+ in solution | Allows a vanadium redox flow battery with the same element in both electrolytes, which avoids cross-contamination and gives long cycle life | USGS MCS 2026 (VRFBs); electrochemistry standard |
| Electrolyte purity | battery-grade V2O5 typically at least 99.5% with low Fe, Si and alkali metals (indicative) | Impurities shorten flow-battery life; limited high-purity feedstock is a key VRFB challenge | USGS MCS 2026; purity indicative |