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. 

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.