#$avcvf

[bluephoenixinc]

Could Tesla, Russia and the microgrid fuel this supermaterial?

Vanadium has been talked about as a supermaterial in the past yet the conversation actually now has some legs considering recent events. Over the past week, major U.S. power producer Exelon ($EXC) formed a strategic relationship with Bloom Energy to boost the reliability in the distributed energy markets that the company serves. With reliability increasingly becoming the battle cry for utilities players, this first of its kind alliance is a major blessing for energy storage solutions and that has me excited about the prospects for vanadium more than ever. 

Vanadium redox batteries can help the intermittent wind and solar markets gain more viability with mainstream customers. Additionally, as seen with American Vanadium’s ($AVCVF) CellCube news earlier this week, capturing energy is the heart and soul for a successful remote microgrid environment. But vanadium usage for storage solutions may not be the sole driver for bullish sentiment for this material. 

Tesla Motors ($TSLA) generated a lot of buzz last week topping analyst sales estimates. Elon Musk has made no secret that Tesla may get into battery solutions and to me that opens the door even wider for vanadium, especially since the automaker already filed patents last Fall for metal air battery technology. This metal air battery technology will include lithium but it will also include vanadium. Therefore at a time when Tesla is increasingly thinking ahead to future battery iterations, it may not be so far-fetched to think the company will look to use metal-air to complement its existing lithium ion battery in order to really boost range. 

Then there’s Russia. Russia, along with China and South Africa are the biggest suppliers of vanadium. With a growing number of sanctions on Russian interests and Putin attempting to fight back with sanctions of his own, the vanadium market is one to definitely keep an eye on. This to me makes vanadium produced in geopolitically friendly areas very attractive. 

Considering Energy Fuels ($UUUU) produced over 2 million pounds of vanadium in 2013, this miner, known more for its uranium assets, has a lot of skin in the vanadium game as well. In 2014, Energy Fuels is not expected to produce any vanadium but that’s due to less than favorable economics which forced the company to shut several producing mines. Therefore if vanadium continues to get more attention for energy storage and EV battery solutions, something I’m fully expecting, Energy Fuels is strongly positioned to capitalize on market developments that will no doubt cause the price of vanadium to jump higher. 

Stay tuned to this feed as we next explore how vanadium could help automakers cut vehicle weight.  

Follow bluephoenixinc​

Disclosure: Energy Fuels is a client of Blue Phoenix

[bluephoenixinc]

Could Tesla, Russia and the microgrid fuel this supermaterial?

Vanadium has been talked about as a supermaterial in the past yet the conversation actually now has some legs considering recent events. Over the past week, major U.S. power producer Exelon ($EXC) formed a strategic relationship with Bloom Energy to boost the reliability in the distributed energy markets that the company serves. With reliability increasingly becoming the battle cry for utilities players, this first of its kind alliance is a major blessing for energy storage solutions and that has me excited about the prospects for vanadium more than ever. 

Vanadium redox batteries can help the intermittent wind and solar markets gain more viability with mainstream customers. Additionally, as seen with American Vanadium’s ($AVCVF) CellCube news earlier this week, capturing energy is the heart and soul for a successful remote microgrid environment. But vanadium usage for storage solutions may not be the sole driver for bullish sentiment for this material. 

Tesla Motors ($TSLA) generated a lot of buzz last week topping analyst sales estimates. Elon Musk has made no secret that Tesla may get into battery solutions and to me that opens the door even wider for vanadium, especially since the automaker already filed patents last Fall for metal air battery technology. This metal air battery technology will include lithium but it will also include vanadium. Therefore at a time when Tesla is increasingly thinking ahead to future battery iterations, it may not be so far-fetched to think the company will look to use metal-air to complement its existing lithium ion battery in order to really boost range. 

Then there’s Russia. Russia, along with China and South Africa are the biggest suppliers of vanadium. With a growing number of sanctions on Russian interests and Putin attempting to fight back with sanctions of his own, the vanadium market is one to definitely keep an eye on. This to me makes vanadium produced in geopolitically friendly areas very attractive. 

Considering Energy Fuels ($UUUU) produced over 2 million pounds of vanadium in 2013, this miner, known more for its uranium assets, has a lot of skin in the vanadium game as well. In 2014, Energy Fuels is not expected to produce any vanadium but that’s due to less than favorable economics which forced the company to shut several producing mines. Therefore if vanadium continues to get more attention for energy storage and EV battery solutions, something I’m fully expecting, Energy Fuels is strongly positioned to capitalize on market developments that will no doubt cause the price of vanadium to jump higher. 

Stay tuned to this feed as we next explore how vanadium could help automakers cut vehicle weight.  

Follow @bluephoenixinc

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