Also present in the region are lithium, vanadium, and rare-earth metals, not to mention a potential for uranium and diamonds.

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Other expensive metals, such as vanadium and chromium, could also become cheaper.

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Vanadium and tungsten give strength to steel, but at great expense.

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One promising flow battery type is called a vanadium redox battery, and the way it works sheds some light on why these batteries can last so long.

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Unlike in most batteries, where one chemical turns into another chemical as it releases or stores charge, the vanadium in this type of battery simply takes on or releases electrons.

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When the fluid was pumped around the chip a piece of chemistry called a redox reaction would take place, as one sort of vanadium ion gave up electrons to the other sort.

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Each would carry a fluid doped with vanadium ions, but those ions would be in different oxidative states in the different channel systems at least, they would be when they entered the chip.

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And as to vanadium and tungsten in steel.

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