As seen on Energy and Resources Digest"Vanadium is primarily used as an alloy to strengthen steel and reduce its weight," a producer of the metal explains. "Vanadium enhanced steels are used in a vast and growing range of products... With a compound annual growth rate of over 6% for the past several years, vanadium is a bourgeoning commodity with concentrated supply... As trends in the steel industry now demand increasingly stronger and lighter products for advanced applications, the use of vanadium is expected to continue this growth over the medium and long term."
But vanadium's primary investment appeal derives from its use in energy storage. This new source of demand could drive the price much higher.
The steel market currently consumes about 91% of the vanadium supply, leaving only 9% for all other applications. But remember, China's new vanadium battery will require a quantity of metal equal to 5% of the global supply.
So it isn't hard to imagine that additional demand from the energy storage sector could push the vanadium price significantly higher...