Pangang Vanadium Output Fell as Titanium Dioxide Production Rose in 2025

Pangang Group

Pangang vanadium output declined slightly in 2025 as weak prices and oversupply continued to pressure China’s vanadium market. Pangang Group Vanadium and Titanium Resources, China’s largest vanadium producer, cut production by 0.4% on the year to 53,100t of vanadium pentoxide equivalent.

The lower Pangang vanadium output reflected a market still struggling to absorb available supply. China’s vanadium consumption increased in steel and vanadium redox flow batteries, but demand growth was not strong enough to remove the surplus.

Pangang’s overall revenue fell by 33% on the year to 8.89bn yuan, or about $1.29bn, as lower prices for both vanadium and titanium products reduced earnings momentum. The result shows how exposed integrated titanium-vanadium producers remain to price cycles across multiple industrial materials.

Vanadium Surplus Weighed on Prices Despite Battery Demand Growth

China’s vanadium market remained oversupplied in 2025 even though steel consumption and vanadium redox flow battery demand both increased. This limited the pricing benefit from battery-sector growth and kept pressure on producers.

Vanadium remains closely linked to the steel industry, where it is used to improve strength and performance in rebar and specialty steels. Battery demand is strategically important, but it has not yet become large enough to fully offset weakness or oversupply in the traditional steel-linked market.

The slight decline in Pangang vanadium output therefore signals production discipline rather than a structural shift away from vanadium. Producers are still waiting for stronger demand from energy storage to translate into tighter market fundamentals.

Titanium Dioxide Output Rose as Margins Remained Under Pressure

Pangang increased titanium dioxide production by 7.7% on the year to 272,500t in 2025. This included 69,200t produced through the chlorination process, which is typically used for higher-quality titanium dioxide products.

The company also produced 199,500t of sulphate titanium slag, up 9.8% from the previous year. Pangang has 1.8mn t/yr of titanium concentrate capacity, 220,000 t/yr of titanium slag capacity and 300,000 t/yr of titanium dioxide capacity, including 75,000 t/yr through chlorination.

China’s titanium dioxide sector remained difficult despite Pangang’s output growth. Domestic titanium dioxide output edged lower, feedstock titanium concentrate and sulphuric acid prices stayed elevated, and overseas anti-dumping measures weakened exports.

These pressures intensified competition and squeezed margins across the titanium dioxide industry. Pangang’s higher production therefore came against a challenging pricing and cost environment, not a broad market recovery.

The Metalnomist Commentary

Pangang’s 2025 results show that scale alone does not protect producers from weak vanadium and titanium pricing. The key question is whether battery storage demand and higher-value chlorination titanium dioxide can eventually offset oversupply and margin pressure in China’s mature industrial markets.