SIDNEY, OH—Fresh off of winning Intel’s $20 billion project to make semiconductors in Licking County, the state is on the verge of landing another big project: a $900 million investment by a Chinese manufacturer of materials used in batteries that power electric vehicles and other products.
RALEIGH, NC—VinFast, a Vietnamese manufacturer of electric vehicles, has chosen North Carolina for its first North American automotive and battery assembly plant, which will create 7,500 jobs. The manufacturing plant will be built at the Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County.
Metal-plastic composites (MPCs) have many advantages for producing lightweight structures. They are lighter than steel, yet very strong. They can be shaped using standard cold-forming processes. And, they are less expensive than aluminum alloys.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—BMW i Ventures Inc. has invested in Alitheon's digital fingerprinting technology (FeaturePrint ID), which represents product surfaces as math formulas to enable on-demand verification of an authentic auto part via an industrial camera or a handheld app.
Electric vehicles have been a vital element of the green-energy revolution for the past several years. Nonetheless, producing key EV components continues to present great technical challensges for many large and established manufacturers.
In January, Intel announced that it will invest $20 billion in a new microchip manufacturing facility near Columbus, OH. The fab is expected to create 3,000 company jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and tens of thousands of additional jobs for suppliers and partners.
DETROIT—Detroit’s Big Three automakers will allow autoworkers to stop wearing masks at workplaces where U.S. health officials have said it is safe to do so.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Automotive assembly lines in Germany, Britain, Austria and Russia have halted production in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.