Water is the source of life on Earth. It also may hold the key to increasing the storage capacity of electric vehicle batteries.

Hella GmbH & Co. has been synonymous with automotive lighting for decades. But, the 124-year-old company produces more than just top-of-the-line headlamps.

ETOWAH, TN—Piedmont Lithium is building a $600 million factory here that is scheduled to start production in 2026 and could produce enough lithium hydroxide to make 600,000 batteries annually.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX—Tesla has begun construction of a $1 billion factory here to produce lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle batteries. 

ANTSY, England—The London Electric Vehicle Co. has unveiled a new modular platform for commercial applications, such as battery-powered delivery trucks.

CARROLLTON, TX—Siemens has opened a new assembly plant here to produce chargers for electric vehicles. The company’s second EV charger manufacturing hub in the U.S., the factory will help the company meet its goal of producing 1 million EV chargers for the U.S. market. 

SEOUL—General Motors Co. and Samsung SDI plan to invest more than $3 billion to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States that is targeted to begin operations in 2026.

SEOUL—Hyundai Motor Group plans to set up an electric vehicle (EV) battery cell production joint venture in the U.S. with partner SK On.

JACKSON, TN—6K Energy, the cathode materials production division of 6K Inc., plans to establish a full-scale PlusCAM battery material manufacturing plant here. The $250 million project is expected to create 230 jobs in Madison County.

ANN ARBOR. MI—The University of Michigan has launched an Electric Vehicle Center that will focus on cutting-edge research and education.