LOVELAND, CO—EV specialist Lightning eMotors has completed a 102,000-square-foot expansion of its manufacturing facility here, in order to double production of zero-emission vehicles and powertrains  to 1,500 by the end of 2022.

Mullen Technologies Inc. is a start-up company that's developing several types of electric vehicles, including a crossover, a sports car and a delivery van. The Brea, CA-based firm is led by an entrepreneur who formerly worked in the entertainment industry as a record producer.

While batteries and motors are the "lead actors" in electric vehicles, power electronics play an equally important behind-the-scenes role. Vehicle power electronics primarily process and control the flow of electrical energy in EVs.

The internal combustion engine may not be dead, but it has lost its spot in the limelight. The global demand for energy without emissions is driving markets and policy. In response, the world has turned its attention to electrification as the future of transportation.

Fire and ice don't mix. The same applies to water and batteries. In an electric vehicle, a tiny bit of water vapor can damage lithium-ion battery cells.

Picture a flying taxi able to whisk passengers to their chosen destination within minutes, not hours. A noiseless aircraft free from carbon emissions, capable of vertical takeoff and landing in the heart of a major city. What once sounded like a scene out of a science-fiction novel is cruising toward reality, forever altering the way we move.