Vanadium

This refractive steel-grey metal has a high melting point and can easily be worked into tubing, sheets, and bars, which make it a good match for high temperature applications in the chemical industry. Its most important use, however, is as an additive in steel alloys, in which it improves ductility, hardness and shock resistance. There are different grades of vanadium steels, some of which are commonly used for high speed machining tools, and others to make highly wear-resistant cast iron parts like axels, bearings and gears. Lightweight aluminium and titanium alloys with vanadium are used as critical components in jet engines.