BUCKEYE, AZ—Kore Power Inc. is building a $500 million assembly plant here to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle charging stations, microgrids, utilities and other applications.

Short-cycle applications have a wide range of requirements. Manufacturing engineers must consider numerous aspects of transfer systems: Can the system move forwards and back again? How flexible is it? What sizes and weights can be transported? Can it be expanded if necessary?

The components in the pneumatic systems of production lines are subject to wear that can lead to leakage. When leaks go undetected, they can affect machine performance, increase energy use, raise operating costs and expand carbon footprints. Integrating a smart pneumatics package can prevent these rising costs and emissions. One critical part of this package is a smart sensor. The Emerson AVENTICS Series AF2 Flow Sensor helps engineers identify leaks in real time and address them quickly, which optimizes airflow, reduces costs and improves overall equipment effectiveness.

MALTA, NY—GlobalFoundries has announced plans to expand production at its existing semiconductor facility here and build a new facility to double the site’s current capacity and help address the global chip shortage.

WASHINGTON—Manufacturing activity in the U.S. remained robust in July, but slowed somewhat compared with previous months due to supply chain strains, reports the Institute for Supply Management in its latest Manufacturing Report on Business Purchasing Managers' Index.

NÖRDLINGEN, Germany—VARTA AG has opened a new lithium-ion-cell factory here with 15,000 square meters of production space on two floors. New customer orders are already being processed.

PITTSBURGH—Wabtec Corp. recently started operations at Neighborhood 91, an additive manufacturing production facility at Pittsburgh International Airport’s Innovation Campus.

BEIJING—On September 1, a new cybersecurity law in China takes effect that tightens rules on how data can be collected and shared with third parties in the automotive and other industries.

STUTTGART, Germany—Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand plans to become all-electric by the end of this decade. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the car company is accelerating toward an emissions-free and software-driven future.

ITZEHOE, Germany—After three years of development, ElectricBrands AG has built a fully functional prototype of the XBUS, a lightweight modular electric vehicle. Production is set to begin here in mid-2022.