Ford receives USD 9.2 billion loan from the US Government: Ford Motors has received USD 9.2 billion as part of a conditional loan from the US Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (AVTM) program. The funds will support the construction of three Ford EV battery factories in partnership with SK Innovation. Two of the factories will be located in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. Through its BlueOvalSK, Ford and SK Innovation plan to build capacity to supply 129 GWh worth of EV batteries each year, enough to power two million EVs annually by 2026.

Panasonic and Mazda to partner on EV batteries: Panasonic Energy and Mazda Motor Corporation have entered discussions to establish a medium- to long-term partnership. Under this partnership, Panasonic would supply Mazda with automotive cylindrical lithium-ion batteries manufactured at its plants in Japan and North America. Mazda intends to install the batteries in its EVs that will be produced from 2025 onwards.

Rivian partners with Tesla for charging access: Rivian Automotive has signed an agreement with Tesla to provide Rivian drivers access to Tesla’s Supercharger network across the US and Canada. Rivian will provide adapters to enable charging through Tesla’s network from 2024. Furthermore, Rivian plans to make North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge ports a standard feature in future R1 and R2 EVs from 2025.

Siemens partners with Helixx: Siemens has established a technical partnership with Helixx, a UK-based technology company, to provide the latter access to the Siemens Xcelerator digital business platform for its manufacturing system. In turn, the manufacturing system will enable Helixx’s customers to operate licensed factories known as “Helixx Mobility Hubs'' which will produce a range of mini commercial EVs. Helixx’s EV range will include CARGO commercial delivery van, TRUCK pick-up construction vehicle, TUK and RIDE. Helixx plans to manufacture the first EVs at its concept hub in Oxfordshire and in pilot hubs in the UK and Singapore, with plans to produce 10,000 Helixx EVs a year by 2025.

LG Energy and Honda begin construction of factory: LG Energy Solution and Honda have begun construction of their new JV EV battery facility in Ohio. The two companies have committed to invest USD 3.5 million in the 40 GWh project. The factory is set to be completed in 2024 and will begin mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries in 2025.