DETROIT—General Motors will build a new factory in North America as part of an upcoming joint venture with a South Korean chemical manufacturer.

LIBERTY, NC—Toyota Motor North America has chosen a 1,825-acre site here as the location for its new $1.29 billion automotive battery assembly plant.

The Schaeffler Group is a family-owned German auto parts manufacturer that supplies automakers around the world. Like many companies, it is shifting its product portfolio to electric vehicles.

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a new type of battery that weaves two promising subfields into a single product.

Some birds, such as albatrosses and pelicans, skim over ocean waves and fly long distances, up to thousands of miles in a few days, without hardly flapping their wings. Using this dynamic soaring method, seabirds continually harness the power of air and wave currents to conserve energy as they glide along.