In November 2018 acquired an initial equity interest in US Vanadium LLC (”USV”), which is now our largest private equity investment. USV is in the business of acquiring vanadium concentrate worldwide for processing in the U.S. into refined products such as High Purity Vanadium Pentoxide (V2O5), technical grade V2O5 and Vanadium Trioxide (V2O3) and the subsequent sale of these products to international customers.
On March 16, 2021 USV announced that it had successfully recycled liquid electrolyte from Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRFB”) at 1 97% recovery rate. Because of their nearly unlimited energy storage capacity, high efficiency, zero emissions, very long cycle lives, and relatively low cost of available electricity on a lifecycle basis, VRFB energy storage systems are enabling consumers to utilize renewable energy systems for 100% of their actual power needs without having to rely on renewable energy credits and other accounting offsets.
On May 27, 2025 USV announced a joint development effort with Tyfast Energy Corp., a pioneer in advanced metal oxide anodes, that will focus on scaling the domestic production of ultra-fine-grain vanadium oxide materials. This raw material is critical for producing Tyfast’s novel lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) anode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Tyfast’s patented anode unlocks exceptional performance characteristics, including:
- Up to 10X faster charging than conventional lithium-ion batteries
- Up to 10X cycle life, exceeding 10,000 full-depth cycles
- Superior performance at extreme temperatures, including fast charging at -20 °C
For more information on USV, please visit their web site at www.usvanadium.com