ST. CATHARINES, ON—General Motors plans to build motors for electric vehicles at its assembly plant here. The move, subject to support agreements with the federal and provincial governments, is expected to support some 500 jobs at the facility.

DURHAM, NC—Kempower Inc., a manufacturer of charging stations for electric vehicles, will invest $41.2 million to build a new assembly plant here, creating 300 jobs.

WOLFSBORO, Germany—Volkswagen AG is teaching assemblers how to produce electric vehicles at its flagship factory here.

SANTA CRUZ, CA—Joby Aviation Inc.’s much-anticipated electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has achieved an important milestone. 

GRÜNHEIDE, Germany—Tesla Inc. has released a series of short videos on Twitter that provide an in-depth look at its electric vehicle assembly plant here.

In July 2022, Panasonic announced it would build a new lithium-ion battery plant in DeSoto, Kansas, a small town located right off a major highway. The plant is being built for the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. It's estimated the project will bring 4,000 permanent jobs to the state, and according to Kansas Department of Commerce officials, it is the most significant economic development project in state history. 

SINDELFINGEN, Germany—The state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz factory here recently built the automaker’s 22 millionth vehicle.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) engineers have developed a new process to produce better, cheaper cathodes for use in lithium-ion batteries. 

Fires are a risk in lithium-ion batteries, because they’re sensitive to high operating temperatures and are inherently flammable. 

Battery manufacturers tend to be conservative in their efforts to maximize production processes and still maintain sustainable assembly costs.