Specialty chemical producer U.S. Vanadium has purchased a materials processing plant in Benton formerly owned by French proppant manufacturer Saint-Gobain.
U.S. Vanadium said in a news release Wednesday that the acquisition will help the company prepare more vanadium, an elemental metal, for use in a variety of products.
Vanadium, which is malleable and resistant to corrosion, is commonly used to harden steel but has been increasingly processed for commercial technology including rechargeable flow batteries. The batteries can store energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind for long periods of time.
“This strategic acquisition gives US Vanadium greater flexibility and processing capacity for the various sources of vanadium feedstock that we utilize,” Company CEO Mark A. Smith said in the release. “Such vertical integration allows us to ramp up our production of high-purity vanadium more efficiently and at a lower cost.”
The plant in Benton is about 30 miles from the company’s flagship production center in Hot Springs.
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