The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), in collaboration with Magna, unveiled a new manufacturing process that reduces more than 50% of the embodied energy and more than 90% of the carbon dioxide emissions by eliminating the need to mine and refine the same amount of raw aluminum ore.

Iris, a small, lightweight lunar rover built by students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, is set to launch on Thursday, May 4. Once on the moon, Iris will conduct a 60-hour mission – taking photos and sending them back to Earth as it rolls along.

Boeing will build 184 AH-64E Apaches for the U.S. Army and international customers, including the first Apaches for Australia. The $2.1 billion contract has the potential to increase to more than $3.8 billion with future obligations.

Scrap brokerage Zeb Metals and commodities trading firm Glencore are partnering to bring an aluminum scrap and dross recycling operation to the Charleston, S.C., area. The plant will include as many as two rotary furnaces to recycle aluminum dross and industrial scrap. 

After announcing a temporary stop in production and voluntary recall of the Endurance in February, Lordstown Motors filed documents with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration providing more details about a braking defect that affects some models of the all-electric pickup.

Alauda Aeronautics recently unveiled the Airspeeder Mk4, the first crewed version of its flying racecar. Designed and built in Adelaide, South Australia, the company says it is also the world’s fastest electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Tesla has applied for a patent on a new “ultra-hard” steel alloy that it plans to use with the Cybertruck electric pickup truck.

The Volkswagen Group and its battery company, PowerCo, selected St. Thomas in Ontario, Canada, as the site of its first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing. Start of production is planned for 2027.

ABB is investing $20 million to expand its existing North American robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. The project is expected to be completed in November 2023 and will create 72 highly skilled new jobs.

The 85 Hammer stands five stories above ground and five stories below ground. Installed at ATI Forged Products in Cudahy, Wis., in 1959, the counterblow hammer weighs over 1 million pounds.