Reuters reported that a little known metal used in steelmaking could emerge as a game changer for battery technology, raising the prospect of an investment boom like the one that lifted rare earths out of obscurity in 2010.

Analysts said that electric cars fueled by vanadium could one day travel hundreds of miles on a six minute charge, while renewable energy sources like wind and solar could use vanadium batteries to rival coal in terms of reliability. The technology could boost demand for the metal by more than 35% in the next two or three years.

Mr Chris Berry, founder of House Mountain Partners, said that "The potential to make vanadium into a multi billion dollar metal resides in the battery business and in particular in the energy storage business."

Vanadium's special attributes have been known for decades. In small quantities it can double the strength of steel, and Henry Ford used it to build his Model T, a car that revolutionized the auto industry. The metal is also a critical additive for modern construction, and there is no substitute for it in making alloys used by the aerospace industry. But its potential in energy storage really makes vanadium interesting. Vanadium flow batteries charge in a flash, their capacity expands and they last for decades.

The batteries have been around since the 1980s, but there are only a few examples of the technology in a commercial setting. The battery is bigger than in other mass storage systems, and also more expensive, at least for now.

That may change if the early scramble to secure a stable supply of vanadium gains traction, much like the recent dash to find new sources of rare earths, the 17 metals that goes into products as diverse as Apple iPhone and Toyota's Prius cars.

Mr Bill Radvak CEO of American Vanadium said that "Vanadium has all that rare earth type opportunity, yet it has a very stable base on the steel strengthening side. It's just about to take off in the next year or two."

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)