A procession of heavy-duty trucks rolls down the valley to waiting refineries, where shipments of gray ore are processed into a battery material vital to the world’s energy transition — lithium. The surging popularity of electric vehicles has transformed this once threadbare area into the country’s lithium mining capital.

Sodium-ion tech is 90% cheaper than lithium and already in 250K vehicles. Could it make U.S. EVs cheaper—and sideline Detroit’s battery strategy?

A lithium-ion battery that was disposed of incorrectly has been identified as the reason a City of Darwin recycling truck caught fire two weeks ago.

GM and its partner LG Energy Solution plan to launch production of the technology, called lithium manganese-rich batteries, in the U.S. by 2028.