COLUMBUS, OH--Engineers at the Honda Research Institute here have developed a new type of battery that could replace traditional lithium-ion devices.

LONDON--Manufacturers in a wide variety of industries are investing in smart manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing, augmented reality and collaborative robots.

WASHINGTON—The manufacturing industry posted a net gain of 284,000 jobs in 2018, capping its best calendar year since 1997, the Labor Department announced earlier this week. Manufacturing gained 32,000 jobs in December.

FRANKFURT—Initial findings of the World Robotics Report 2018, published by the International Federation of Robotics, show that sales of industrial robots in India reached the new record of 3,412 new units installed in 2017. That is an increase of 30 percent compared to 2016.

CENTENNIAL, CO—Boom Supersonic has confirmed plans to flight test the XB-1 prototype of its Overture commercial airliner for the first time this year, after raising $100 million in its latest funding round. Boom plans Overture to enter service in the mid-2020s.

HAWTHORNE, CA—Citing fewer planned launches in 2019, SpaceX says it will layoff roughly 10 percent of its workforce. Those to be cut include production managers, avionics technicians, machinists, inventory specialists and propulsion technicians.

FLINT, MI—Over the next few months, hundreds of General Motors employees will be relocating, and some of those will be coming to the automaker’s assembly plant here.

ST. PAUL, MN—3M and Eckhart have developed a cobot-based automated tape application system for the automotive and industrial market.

CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen will invest $800 million to make a new electric vehicle (EV) at its assembly plant here.

DETROIT—Ford and Volkswagen plan to build commercial vans and medium-sized pickup trucks together as early as 2022 as part of a new partnership.