Push to produce electric car batteries

Four makers of electric car batteries and related equipment announced plans yesterday to set up facilities in the US state of Michigan at a combined cost of almost $1.7bn.

The projects are part of a belated drive by the US public and private sectors to close the competitive gap with Asian electric-car technology amid predictions that electric vehicles are set to play a growing role in mass transportation.

Three of the projects involve construction of lithium-ion battery cell plants, the first in North America.
FT