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The Electric

By Steve LeVine

The Electric is a publication from Steve LeVine and The Information focused on crucial industries for the energy transition, including next-generation batteries, electric vehicles and autonomous driving. The newsletter is only for subscribers of The Information.

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Recent Editions

Harbinger will produce the chassis for 2,000 FedEx vans. Photo: Courtesy Harbinger

An Unexpected Gusher of Cash Has Hit the Electric Vehicle Industry

By Steve LeVine · Oct 4, 2026 2:00pm PDT

U.S. electric vehicle makers are starting to rake in the big dough. And it’s not only Tesla that’s doing so. The big money is flowing in places few were looking. U.S. electric vehicle makers are starting to rake in the big dough. And it’s not only Tesla that’...

Bandit, Neros' coming fast drone interceptor. Photo: Courtesy Neros

Neros Nears Release of Fast Drone to Bring Down Jet-Powered Russian Drones

By Steve LeVine · Sep 30, 2026 12:00pm PDT

U.S. drone maker Neros Technologies said that by the end of the year, it will supply Ukraine with a drone capable of taking down the Russian jet-powered kamikaze drones that have devastated the Ukraine capital of Kyiv for the last two months. U.S. drone maker Neros Technologies said that by the end of the year, it will supply Ukraine with...

GM's Battery Cell Development Center, where it has begun to scale up the new manganese battery. Photo: Courtesy GM

A Close Look at the New Battery GM Plans to Make Despite Skepticism

By Steve LeVine · Sep 27, 2026 2:01pm PDT

In an unusual display of battery bravado, General Motors has begun to scale up production of a pioneering electric vehicle battery that most of the rest of the industry—from the U.S. to China—thinks isn’t ready for commercial deployment.The carmaker plans to introduce an unusual manganese-based EV battery starting in 2028, as I wrote Tuesday.... In an unusual display of battery bravado, General Motors has begun to scale up production of a...

Cathode production at GM's Battery Cell Development Center. Photo: Courtesy GM

Exclusive: GM Is Pumping Out Cathodes And Moving to Bypass China's Battery Chokehold

By Steve LeVine · Sep 23, 2026 12:00pm PDT

Cathode production at GM's Battery Cell Development Center. Photo: Courtesy GM

Exclusive: GM Is Pumping Out Cathodes And Moving to Bypass China's Battery Chokehold

By Steve LeVine · Sep 23, 2026 12:00pm PDT

In 2024, researchers working in a sprawling General Motors lab in Warren, Mich., prepared 18 variations of a new battery chemistry designed to reduce a battery’s cost, one of the biggest obstacles to greater U.S. consumer interest in electric vehicles. GM bosses believed that if they landed on the right formulation for this unusual battery,... In 2024, researchers working in a sprawling General Motors lab in Warren, Mich., prepared 18...

U.S. troops used Neros Technologies drones in an August exercise in Germany. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty

Drone Startups Backed By Eric Schmidt and the Trump Family Win the Pentagon’s Latest Competition

By Steve LeVine · Sep 20, 2026 2:01pm PDT

Last month, the Pentagon threw up its arms in frustration (metaphorically speaking) when most of the drone startups in competition for $300 million in contracts failed to produce aircraft that met a hard-and-fast specification: The drones could contain no Chinese-made components or materials. Last month, the Pentagon threw up its arms in frustration (metaphorically speaking) when most of...

CATL's booth at this week's International Motor Show in Hanover, Germany. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg/Getty

Amid a Battery Squeeze at Home, CATL Pursues Europe's Big Rig Market

By Steve LeVine · Sep 16, 2026 12:27pm PDT

China’s biggest battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., makes four out of every 10 batteries in the world, powering smartphones, electric vehicles, AI data centers and drones nearly everywhere. Now it’s seeking to tighten that hold further with a push to power many of the world’s long-haul trucks, which are quickly going electric. China’s biggest battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., makes four out of every 10...

Ford will use Chinese battery technology to power its forthcoming electric Fathom pickup. Photo: Courtesy Ford.

Why Ford Is Right to Rely on Chinese Battery Technology—and Why Others Should Too

By Steve LeVine · Sep 13, 2026 2:00pm PDT

In 2022, amid a multiyear frenzy over electric vehicles, Ford was studying how to cheaply power its EVs. It settled on a battery made by China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the biggest—and, many thought, the best—battery maker in the world. The next year, Ford went further, announcing that it would build a plant in Michigan where it... In 2022, amid a multiyear frenzy over electric vehicles, Ford was studying how to cheaply power...

In Ford's Marshall, Mich. plant, which makes batteries using technology licensed from China's CATL. Photo: Courtesy Ford

Ford's Tense Exchange With a Trump Official Reflects Industry Efforts to Keep Making EVs

By Steve LeVine · Sep 9, 2026 12:22pm PDT

In Ford's Marshall, Mich. plant, which makes batteries using technology licensed from China's CATL. Photo: Courtesy Ford

Ford's Tense Exchange With a Trump Official Reflects Industry Efforts to Keep Making EVs

By Steve LeVine · Sep 9, 2026 12:22pm PDT

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are escalating. Just look at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s extraordinary tirade against Ford, which became public on Tuesday, when he called the company’s dealings with Chinese companies “unacceptable” and challenged its patriotism. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are escalating. Just look at Transportation Secretary...

Beginning last week, Uber customers in London for the first time could hail a driverless robotaxi—a Ford Mustang Mach-E powered by Wayve technology, with a safety driver for now. Photo: Courtesy Wayve.

In London, Wayve Launched Its Own Robotaxi a Few Hours Before Tesla's Big Reveal

By Steve LeVine · Sep 6, 2026 2:20pm PDT

After a decade of talking about it, Tesla has finally put a few driverless electric Cybercabs on the road for paying customers, though the launch in Austin, Texas, last Thursday was closed to the press and public. It was attended only by Tesla employees and superfans, and restricted to a small geofenced area of the city. After a decade of talking about it, Tesla has finally put a few driverless electric Cybercabs on...

EnPower is retooling its Indiana battery plant to make the new drone pouch cell. Photo: Courtesy EnPower.

Startups Gravitate to a New, Pentagon-backed Battery to Bypass China’s Chokehold

By Steve LeVine · Sep 2, 2026 12:00pm PDT

In 2024, the U.S. approved the sale of attack drones to Taiwan, triggering a furious response from China. In retaliation, Beijing blocked the sale of batteries to Skydio, the largest U.S. maker of drones, creating a supply crunch for the company because it had no alternative source of batteries. In 2024, the U.S. approved the sale of attack drones to Taiwan, triggering a furious response...

Nyobolt's niobium battery, at its Massachusetts facility. Photo: Courtesy Nyobolt.

How Nyobolt Paired Its Battery With Non-humanoid Robots and Won a $1 Billion Valuation

By Steve LeVine · Aug 30, 2026 2:01pm PDT · 1 comment

Working in her lab at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., Clare Grey, a chemistry professor, had developed what seemed like a dream battery: It could charge as fast as a minute or two—quicker even than the time it takes to fill a conventional car with gasoline.The problem was that Grey’s battery was far too expensive to actually use in a... Working in her lab at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., Clare Grey, a chemistry professor,...

In Coreshell Technologies' San Leandro, Calif. plant. Photo: Courtesy Coreshell.

Pushing Back on China, the Trump Administration Doubles Down on Silicon Anodes

By Steve LeVine · Aug 26, 2026 2:01pm PDT

In Coreshell Technologies' San Leandro, Calif. plant. Photo: Courtesy Coreshell.

Pushing Back on China, the Trump Administration Doubles Down on Silicon Anodes

By Steve LeVine · Aug 26, 2026 2:01pm PDT

For the second time in a month, the Trump administration has made an investment aimed at reducing the U.S.’s reliance on Chinese-made graphite, a key ingredient in batteries that Beijing has weaponized in a battle over China’s access to high-end chips. For the second time in a month, the Trump administration has made an investment aimed at reducing...

China's SAIC will sell the MG4 Urban, powered by a semisolid-state battery, in the U.K. Photo: Li Yingmin/China News Service/VCG/Getty

China's Geely Has a Jump in Solid-State Batteries. Should the U.S. Care?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 23, 2026 2:01pm PDT

Earlier this month, China’s Geely Group said it would deploy semisolid-state batteries in electric vehicles it is piloting next year, joining a slew of Chinese car companies preparing to commercialize the long-pursued battery technology. Earlier this month, China’s Geely Group said it would deploy semisolid-state batteries in...

Enovix's Penang, Malaysia factory. Photo: Courtesy Enovix

Enovix Next-Gen Batteries Are Terrific. Are They Also Obsolete?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 19, 2026 12:01pm PDT

In August 2022, Ananda Baruah, a technology analyst with Loop Capital, doubled his price target for next-generation battery developer Enovix to $100 a share. At the time the stock was trading around $20. Other leading analysts were less bullish, but Baruah argued that the startup was on the cusp of a windfall in sales to some of the biggest... In August 2022, Ananda Baruah, a technology analyst with Loop Capital, doubled his price target...

A kamikaze drone being tested in Ukraine. Photo: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty

A Slew of Deals Appears to End the Malaise for Battery Startups

By Steve LeVine · Aug 16, 2026 2:00pm PDT

In 2022, next-generation battery startup SES AI debuted on the New York Stock Exchange and announced the big news that its lithium-metal battery was undergoing validation tests with three major automakers—General Motors, Honda and Hyundai, all three of which were investors in the Massachusetts startup. In 2022, next-generation battery startup SES AI debuted on the New York Stock Exchange and...

In Ukraine, a battery-powered first-person-view attack drone. Photo: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty

After Years Looking For a Market, Lithium Metal Battery Startups Find One in Ukraine

By Steve LeVine · Aug 12, 2026 12:36pm PDT

In Ukraine, a battery-powered first-person-view attack drone. Photo: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty

After Years Looking For a Market, Lithium Metal Battery Startups Find One in Ukraine

By Steve LeVine · Aug 12, 2026 12:36pm PDT

Many of the drone startups competing for expected massive Pentagon contracts are using Western-made next-generation batteries that power the aircraft further and charge faster. And over the last six months, Ukraine has also begun to use such exotic battery chemistries to power interceptor drones that require quick maneuvers to bring down Russian... Many of the drone startups competing for expected massive Pentagon contracts are using...

Sila Nanotechnologies' plant in Moses Lake, Washington. Photo: Courtesy Sila.

Trump Puts Pentagon Loan Behind Next-Generation Batteries to Leapfrog China

By Steve LeVine · Aug 10, 2026 9:03am PDT

Chinese companies dominate the world’s supply of the “good enough” batteries used to power AI data centers, electricity grids and electric vehicles. Now the Trump administration, wary of growing Chinese export controls on these batteries and some of the key materials that go into them, is pouring funds into efforts to cut U.S. dependence on... Chinese companies dominate the world’s supply of the “good enough” batteries used to power AI...

In Harbinger Motors' Garden Grove, Calif. assembly factory. Photo: Courtesy Harbinger.

Amid the EV Wreckage, Harbinger Motors Says Unsexy Van Chassis Pay Off

By Steve LeVine · Aug 6, 2026 9:01am PDT

Amid the electric vehicle frenzy at the beginning of the decade, U.S. and European carmakers rushed into EV development programs costing tens of billions of dollars each, while EV startups raised additional billions from investors expecting a bonanza in returns. Amid the electric vehicle frenzy at the beginning of the decade, U.S. and European carmakers...

Boxing robots made by China's Unitree. Photo: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty

What Thomas Edison Says About Who Will Win the AI and Battery Race

By Steve LeVine · Aug 3, 2026 9:01am PDT

In the 1880s, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse launched a savage industrial war over who would dominate the era’s powerful new innovation—electricity. In the 1880s, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse launched a savage industrial war over who...

EHang's autonomous two-seat eVTOL. Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu/Getty

CEOs Say Future Electric Flying Taxis Will Be Pilotless. Will Passengers Go Along?

By Steve LeVine · Jul 30, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

EHang's autonomous two-seat eVTOL. Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu/Getty

CEOs Say Future Electric Flying Taxis Will Be Pilotless. Will Passengers Go Along?

By Steve LeVine · Jul 30, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

If electric flying taxis crowd the low-altitude skies in the coming years, as startups predict, how will they manage not to crash into one another? If electric flying taxis crowd the low-altitude skies in the coming years, as startups predict,...