Historical vanadium uses in the United States

diagram of cumulative vanadium use in the United States in 1992-2021. The left side of the chart displays products in which vanadium is used; the right side of the chart displays sectors in which the vanadium-containing products are employed.
Cumulative vanadium use in the United States in 1992-2021. The left side of the chart displays products in which vanadium is used; the right side of the chart displays sectors in which the vanadium-containing products are employed.

CMI researchers from Yale University conducted the research for this highlight.

Achievement
We mapped uses of vanadium across U.S. sectors for 1992-2021.

Significance and impact
Results highlight how most vanadium uses in U.S. are not recycled, despite vanadium being considered a “critical mineral.” 

Details and next steps

  • Most vanadium is used in automotive manufacturing to increase the mechanical properties of the steels.
  • Because of the increased mechanical properties, vanadium is widely used in applications such as industrial machinery and construction steel frames, albeit in very modest amounts.
  • Future work will investigate how potential deployment of vanadium redox batteries will affect national vanadium demand.

Hub Target Addressed 
Enunciate the economic, scientific, and technological principles needed to guide the extraction of materials as co-products and by-products.