COLUMBUS, Ohio — Honda says it will build a $3.5 billion joint-venture battery factory in rural southern Ohio and hire 2,200 people to staff it as the company starts to turn the state into its North American electric vehicle hub.

Michigan awarded incentives to two new battery projects — a local startup building a cell plant and a Chinese firm that may produce battery components — as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seeks to secure future automotive jobs in the state.

A key lithium producer in Australia, the world’s top supplier, is urging electric car manufacturers and battery makers to become its partners in new refinery projects, arguing their direct financial backing is vital to avoid shortfalls of the material that’s crucial to the clean energy transition.

Albemarle Corp., the world’s largest producer of lithium, raised its outlook for the second time this month as tight supply and growing electric vehicle demand forces battery makers to pay up for the metal.

Batteries, and more precisely battery metals, are poised to replace chips as the new bottleneck for the auto industry.

DETROIT — U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling.

LANSING, Mich. — Electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution plans a $1.7 billion expansion in western Michigan that will add up to 1,200 jobs by 2025, officials announced March 22.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Joe Manchin on March 18 announced a program to develop lithium batteries in the U.S. as part of a broader strategy to help Appalachia amid a transition from coal.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG opened a battery factory in Alabama months before the luxury carmaker starts assembling electric SUVs nearby in an effort to challenge Tesla Inc. in the U.S. EV market.

Newton County, Ga., has landed two major electric vehicle development projects that potentially could provide thousands of jobs in the fast-growing suburb east of Atlanta.