CUAUHTEMOC, Mexico—Leoni AG has expanded its facility here to meet growing demand for electromobility cables in the North American auto industry.

Engineers at Stanford University have developed a new way to make lithium-ion battery packs last longer and suffer less deterioration from fast charging. It could enable electric vehicle batteries to handle more charge cycles and last longer.

Lightweight batteries will be one of the next big breakthroughs in EV technology. One possibility that intrigues engineers is structural batteries, which can be built into the structure of a vehicle’s body or chassis to fulfill load-bearing needs while producing power.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Sila Nanotechnologies $100 million to support the company’s new factory in Moses Lake, WA, and help Sila hire and train some 300 workers for the facility. It’s one of 21 projects that the DOE has funded to support domestic battery materials processing and manufacturing.

NORMAL, IL—Rivian Automotive is taking action after workers reported bedbugs on forklifts at its assembly plant here.

CHARLESTON, SC—Redwood Materials is spending $3.5 billion to build a new factory here to recycle batteries from electric vehicles (EVs).

INGOLSTADT, Germany—Audi AG is preparing its assembly plants to produce EVs-only within 10 years.

SHEFFIELD, England—The first commercial prototype of a solar tree is being developed by engineers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

UUSIKAUPUNKI, Finland—Production of Lightyear’s much anticipated solar-powered EV has started at Valmet Automotive’s state-of-the-art assembly plant here.

TOULOUSE, France—Airbus SE and Renault Group have formed a strategic partnership to develop EV battery technology.