General Motors Co. (GM) and Lithium Americas Corp. will jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, which the companies say is the largest known source of lithium in the United States and the third largest in the world. Under the agreement, GM will make a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas, which estimates the lithium extracted and processed from the project can support production of up to 1 million EVs per year. Production at Thacker Pass is projected to begin in the second half of 2026. Lithium Americas expects the project to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations.

General Motors Co. plans to invest $918 million in four U.S. manufacturing sites, including $854 million to prepare these facilities to produce the company’s sixth-generation Small Block V-8 engine and an additional $64 million in Rochester, N.Y., and Defiance, Ohio, for castings and components to support EV production. These investments will enable the company to strengthen its full-size truck and SUV business and continue to support the company’s growing EV product portfolio. These investments bolster GM’s U.S. manufacturing operations and highlights the company’s commitment to continue providing customers a strong portfolio of ICE vehicles well into the future while continuing to accelerate its transformation to an all-electric future.

Nucor Corp. will build a galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Berkeley in South Carolina to support the company’s strategy to expand its capabilities and grow participation in the automotive market. The $425 million investment will create more than 50 new full-time jobs, and start-up is expected in mid-2025. The galvanizing line will have an annual capacity of approximately 500,000 tons and will be able to produce galvanized steel up to 72 inches wide. Nucor Steel Berkeley also recently announced a five-year, $200 million modernization project that included building an air-separation unit to supply industrial gases for the mill’s steelmaking operations.

General Motors Co. (GM) will invest $760 million at its Toledo, Ohio, propulsion manufacturing operations to prepare the facility for production of drive units that will be used in future Ultium-based battery electric trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and GMC Hummer EVs. Toledo Propulsion Systems will be GM’s first U.S. powertrain or propulsion-related manufacturing facility transformed for EV-related production. Once the plant is converted, it will produce GM’s family of EV drive units, which convert electric power from the battery pack to mechanical motion at the wheels. GM’s EV drive units will cover front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive propulsion combinations.

Toyota announced an additional investment of $2.5 billion in its newest North American facility, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC). This investment adds capacity to support battery electric vehicle (BEV) battery production and adds 350 jobs, bringing total employment to approximately 2,100. Scheduled to begin production in 2025, the facility will produce batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and BEVs.   

Schuler, a member of international technology group Andritz, acquired Italian mechanical engineering firm Sovema Group, a systems supplier of battery-cell manufacturing solutions for the automotive industry and other sectors. Together with Sovema, Schuler will develop the capabilities needed to equip gigafactories for the mass production of lithium-ion batteries. Based in Villafranca di Verona, with sites in the United States and China, Sovema supplies equipment for the production of battery cells. The company has built machines for pilot and laboratory projects for battery manufacturers and also supplied automated turnkey plants for the mass production of lead-acid batteries.

Ovako Steel’s 2018 investment in a vacuum tank degassing (VTD) facility is a critical development for the Smedjebacken mill. 

IHEA has a new member company. MP Combustion is a regional leader in the supply and support of industrial combustion equipment for process-heating applications.

Ford Motor Co. announced plans to invest $3.7 billion and add more than 6,200 new union manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. The company will also convert nearly 3,000 temporary UAW-Ford workers to permanent full-time status. These actions are part of the company’s Ford+ growth strategy and include plans for an all-new global Mustang coupe and Ranger pickup for North America, as well as an all-new electric commercial vehicle for Ford Pro customers. 

Ipsen recently installed a vacuum furnace at Temprasud, a commercial heat treater in Fresagrandinaria, Italy. According to Temprasud, the vacuum hardening and low-pressure carburizing furnace will increase its production capacity and offer customers greater flexibility. The furnace, which has a 1,764-pound (800-kg) load capacity, will also help Temprasud grow its business in the automotive market and allow it to expand into the aerospace market.