Vanadium
A steel-strengthening metal, used in small additions in rebar, pipelines and tools, and in aerospace titanium alloys and flow batteries. China produces about three-quarters of the world's vanadium, mostly as a co-product of steelmaking from vanadium-bearing iron ore.
Supply risk
Reviewed 3 Oct 2026 · Methodology
Elevated
China and Russia dominate supply; sanctions restrict Russian vanadium in the West
Supply concentration (high) and policy (high) decide the level: China produced about 75% of world vanadium in 2025 and Russia about 19%, and Russia's main producer, Evraz, is under UK, US and, since 23 Oct 2025, EU sanctions. The level sits one below those drivers because China has no export controls on vanadium and US imports come mainly from Canada, Austria, Brazil and South Africa.
Since 1 Jan 2023 · Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Project Blue
Get alerts for this materialRisk drivers
- Supply concentrationHigh
- World production was an estimated 110,000 t in 2025: China 82,000 t (about 75%), Russia 21,000 t, Brazil 5,300 t and South Africa 5,000 t. Most Chinese output is a co-product of steelmaking from vanadiferous titanomagnetite ore.Source: U.S. Geological Survey
- Export controlsLow
- No export licensing, bans or quotas on vanadium products by China, Russia, Brazil or South Africa were identified as of October 2026.
- Policy & tariffsHigh
- Evraz, Russia's main vanadium producer, has been under UK sanctions since May 2022, its Russian plants are on the US SDN list, and the EU listed it on 23 Oct 2025; Russia supplied 62% of EU pentoxide imports in 2024. A 50% US tariff on Brazilian high-purity vanadium from 6 Aug 2025 fell with the 20 Feb 2026 Supreme Court IEEPA ruling.Sources: Interfax, Project Blue, Project Blue, GMK Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Thompson Coburn
- Operational disruptionModerate
- South African output fell to an estimated 5,000 t in 2025 from 8,050 t in 2024. Bushveld's Vametco operation entered business rescue in Nov 2024 and began an extended plant shutdown in Dec 2024.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Creamer Media (Mining Weekly), Shares Magazine (LSE regulatory news)
- Demand shockModerate
- Vanadium redox flow battery installations increased worldwide in 2025, though limited high-purity feedstock remains a constraint. Metallurgical use, over 90% of US consumption, follows the steel market, where China plays the central role.Source: U.S. Geological Survey
A supply-availability rating, not a price forecast or investment view. Export-control information is factual and is not legal advice.
Trade flows
2025 · HS 282530
Vanadium oxides and hydroxides
Recorded world imports: 35,061 t · $324M
Top exporters
- Russia38%13,348 t · $103M
- Brazil18%6,215 t · $71.4M
- China17%5,788 t · $61.1M
- South Africa12%4,371 t · $55.7M
- Germany4%1,385 t · $3.33M
- Malaysia4%1,351 t · $1.68M
- Taiwan (Other Asia, nes)1%369 t · $3.37M
- United States<1%305 t · $3.7M
- United Arab Emirates<1%289 t · $270K
- Thailand<1%271 t · $2.91M
Top importers
- Czechia28%9,974 t · $85.4M
- South Korea16%5,782 t · $47M
- India16%5,524 t · $41.3M
- Netherlands10%3,466 t · $37.5M
- Canada9%3,174 t · $35.5M
- United States8%2,878 t · $43.3M
- Kazakhstan5%1,632 t · $1.43M
- Japan3%933 t · $10.1M
- Türkiye2%750 t · $7.57M
- Belgium<1%161 t · $2.16M
Largest routes
- Russia→Czechia9,973 t · $85.4M
- China→South Korea2,928 t · $29.3M
- Brazil→Netherlands2,171 t · $22.9M
- Brazil→Canada1,751 t · $16.8M
- Russia→Kazakhstan1,632 t · $1.43M
Source: UN Comtrade, imports reported by 65 countries for 2025. Exporters are ranked by what importing countries recorded (mirror data), so countries that do not report their own exports are still counted. Values are in US dollars including freight and insurance. Weights are product weight. Recent years can be incomplete, and unrecorded trade is not included.
Overview
Vanadium is a transition metal used mainly as a steel additive. About 80% of the vanadium produced goes into steel, where it adds toughness for armor plate, tools and engine parts.1 A small addition, usually less than 0.1% (about 1 kg per of steel), can markedly raise strength.2
Vanadium is also essential for aerospace titanium , where there is currently no acceptable .3 A growing use is in vanadium redox flow batteries for large-scale energy storage.3
Vanadium is critical because supply is concentrated in China and Russia and because most of it is recovered as a or .3 It is on the US List of and the EU list of critical raw materials, but it is not one of the EU's .45
Where it comes from
Vanadium is found in about 65 minerals, including vanadinite, carnotite and patronite, and in phosphate rock, iron and crude oil.1 It usually makes up less than 2% of the host rock in deposits of phosphate rock, titaniferous magnetite and uraniferous sandstone. Because it is typically recovered as a by-product or co-product, known do not fully show how much can actually be supplied.3 World resources exceed 63 million t.3
The US critical minerals list identifies steel from vanadium-bearing iron ore and spent as the main by-product sources.4 In China, the world's top producer, most output comes as a co-product of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite ore processed during steelmaking.3
World production was an estimated 110,000 t of vanadium in 2025, down from 118,000 t in 2024. China produced about three-quarters and Russia most of the rest. South African output fell to an estimated 5,000 t from 8,050 t in 2024.3
- China82,000 t · 72%
- Russia21,000 t · 19%
- Brazil5,300 t · 5%
- South Africa5,000 t · 4%
World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 110,000 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Vanadium
Australia reports the largest , followed by China and Russia, although Australia reported no vanadium production in 2024 or 2025.3
- Australia10,000,000 t · 47%
- China5,800,000 t · 27%
- Russia5,000,000 t · 23%
- South Africa520,000 t · 2%
- Brazil94,000 t · <1%
- United States50,000 t · <1%
World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 21 million t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Vanadium
What it is used for
Vanadium is the world's most widely used microalloying element for strengthening steel for bridges and buildings. Vanadium-containing high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels are also used in vehicles, cranes, pipelines, offshore structures and ships.2 In the United States, metallurgical uses, mainly as an alloying agent for iron and steel, took more than 90% of reported consumption in 2025.3
In aerospace, vanadium is used in ultra-high-strength steel for landing gear and in titanium alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V for airframes and engines.6 The main non-metallurgical use is in catalysts for making maleic anhydride and sulfuric acid.3 Vanadium(V) is also used as a pigment.1
Vanadium redox flow batteries store energy in a water-based vanadium electrolyte. They are suited to grid-scale, long-duration storage, and the electrolyte does not burn.7 Installations increased worldwide in 2025. High capital costs, limited supply of vanadium and competition from other battery chemistries remain challenges.3
Grades and forms
Vanadium is traded mainly as vanadium pentoxide and ferrovanadium. reports pentoxide on a 98% V₂O₅ basis and ferrovanadium at 78% to 82% vanadium. The aluminum-vanadium used for titanium alloys contains 35% aluminum and 64.5% vanadium.3
Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅)
Commonly 98% V₂O₅
The main traded intermediate, used to make ferrovanadium, chemicals, catalysts and battery electrolyte.
Ferrovanadium (FeV)
Commonly 78–82% V
Iron-vanadium alloy used to add vanadium to steel.
Aluminum-vanadium master alloy
≈ 64.5% V, 35% Al
The main master alloy of the vanadium industry, used to make aerospace titanium alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V.
Vanadium chemicals
Vanadates, chlorides, sulfates and other compounds, mainly for catalysts.
Vanadium electrolyte
Vanadium solution used in vanadium redox flow batteries.
Vanadium-bearing ash, residues and spent catalysts
Secondary feed from petroleum residues, utility ash and spent catalysts.
Trade and policy
The United States has produced no vanadium from ore since mining in Utah stopped in early 2020. Secondary production from petroleum residues, spent catalysts and utility ash in five states rose to an estimated 7,500 t in 2025. fell to 41% from 61% in 2021.3 In 2021–24, ferrovanadium imports came mainly from Canada (50%) and Austria (35%). Vanadium pentoxide imports came mainly from Brazil (47%) and South Africa (43%).3
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 Apr 2025 | US Executive Order 14257 takes effect, setting a 10% baseline tariff on most imports, with higher rates for some countries.3 |
| 6 Aug 2025 | Executive Order 14323 raises US tariffs on many imports from Brazil from 10% to 50%. This includes high-purity vanadium products but not ferrovanadium. A major Brazilian producer seeks an exemption, citing aerospace and defense uses.3 |
This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.
Recycling and substitution
Vanadium is mainly by reprocessing spent vanadium catalysts into new catalysts. How much is recycled from chemical process catalysts is highly uncertain.3
In steel, other alloying elements can partly replace vanadium, including manganese, molybdenum, niobium, titanium and tungsten. Platinum and nickel can replace vanadium compounds in some catalysts. There is currently no acceptable substitute for vanadium in aerospace titanium alloys.3
Sources
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Vanadium: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Simple vanadium. Vanitec, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2
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Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Vanadium. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18
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Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩
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Using vanadium. Vanitec, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩
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Vanadium flow battery (VFB). Vanitec, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩
Sourcing vanadium?
ASZ Company FZCO, the operator of this site, supplies vanadium to industrial buyers worldwide.