Santos David A, Dixit Manish K, Pradeep Kumar Pranav, Banerjee Sarbajit
Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3255, USA.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3255, USA.
iScience. 2021 Oct 13;24(11):103277. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103277. eCollection 2021 Nov 19.
The decarbonization of heavy industry and the emergence of renewable energy technologies are inextricably linked to access to mineral resources. As such, there is an urgent need to develop benchmarked assessments of the role of critical elements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we explore the role of vanadium in decarbonizing construction by serving as a microalloying element and enabling the energy transition as the primary component of flow batteries used for grid-level storage. We estimate that vanadium has enabled an avoided environmental burden totaling 185 million metric tons of CO on an annual basis. A granular analysis estimates savings for China and the European Union at 1.15% and 0.18% of their respective emissions, respectively. Our results highlight the role of critical metals in developing low-carbon infrastructure while underscoring the need for holistic assessments to inform policy interventions that mitigate supply chain risks.
重工业的脱碳和可再生能源技术的出现与矿产资源的获取有着千丝万缕的联系。因此，迫切需要对关键元素在减少温室气体排放中的作用进行基准评估。在此，我们探讨钒在建筑脱碳中的作用，它作为一种微合金元素，并作为用于电网级储能的液流电池的主要成分推动能源转型。我们估计，钒每年避免的环境负担总计达1.85亿吨二氧化碳。详细分析估计，中国和欧盟分别节省了各自排放量的1.15%和0.18%。我们的研究结果凸显了关键金属在发展低碳基础设施中的作用，同时强调需要进行全面评估，为减轻供应链风险的政策干预提供依据。
