Industrial Production Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.

Data Center Water Spikes Could Cost Billions

Rapid growth in AI and cloud computing is driving significant increases in water consumption for data center cooling. Studies show that future facilities may require hundreds of millions of gallons of additional water daily during peak demand. This surge is placing pressure on local water infrastructure and resources. The trend highlights the need for improved water management strategies and more efficient cooling technologies. Read Full Article

Supply Chain Managers

Supply Chain Managers direct or coordinate production, purchasing, warehousing, distribution, or financial forecasting services or activities to limit costs and improve accuracy, customer service, or safety.

Battery Management System Lithium Ion Trends in 2025: AI Integration and Global Market Demands

Artificial intelligence is being integrated into battery management systems to improve safety and reliability. These systems monitor voltage, temperature, and current in real time to detect anomalies and predict potential failures. By identifying risks early, AI-based safety systems help prevent battery fires and extend lifespan. This technology is becoming critical for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage. Read Full Article

Information Technology Project Managers

Plan, initiate, and manage information technology (IT) projects. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. Serve as liaison between business and technical aspects of projects.

Hyundai Motor Launches Battery Subscription Plan to Reduce EV Purchase Costs

Hyundai is launching a pilot program that lets corporate taxi operators pay a monthly subscription for EV batteries, rather than buying them outright, to lower upfront costs and address battery replacement concerns. The initiative, enabled by a new regulatory exemption, will begin with five Ioniq 5 taxis in Seoul and could extend the lifespan and value of EVs by separating battery and vehicle ownership. Hyundai plans to expand this battery subscription model to general consumers and the broader market, aiming to make EV ownership more affordable and support cleaner transportation. Read Full Article

Materials Engineers

Evaluate materials and develop machinery and processes to manufacture materials for use in products that must meet specialized design and performance specifications. Develop new uses for known materials.

Solid-State EV Batteries are Coming Sooner than Expected After Another Breakthrough

A major breakthrough saw A-sample solid-state battery cells roll off production lines, signaling movement from lab testing toward large-scale manufacturing and commercialization. Read Full Article

Geological Technicians

Assist scientists & engineers using measuring instruments to locate resources like oil, gas & minerals, and analyze well data.

US EV Charging 2025: Private Sector Led Growth Amidst Federal Funding Freeze

In 2025, US electric vehicle charging infrastructure grew significantly despite a freeze in federal funding, as private companies took the lead. These companies introduced faster and more reliable chargers, improving both user experience and accessibility. As a result, EV adoption continued to rise, demonstrating the resilience and innovation of the private sector. Read Full Article

Structural Metal Fabricators & Fitters

Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.

Unleashing America’s Mineral Potential: The Critical Minerals Commodity Supply Chain

Manufacturers are increasing investment in rare earth magnet production to meet growing demand from electric vehicles and renewable energy systems. These magnets are essential for motors, generators, and other high-performance applications. Efforts include scaling domestic production and improving recycling processes. The trend reflects the strategic importance of rare earth materials in the global economy. Read Full Article

Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers

Research causes of fires, determine fire protection methods, and design or recommend materials or equipment such as structural components or fire-detection equipment.

LG Energy Solution Launches Battery Production in Lansing

LG Energy Solution has launched battery production at its Lansing, Michigan plant, which now produces both LFP cells for Tesla's stationary storage systems and NMC cells for Toyota's electric vehicles. Originally meant as a joint venture with GM, the plant is now wholly owned by LGES after GM sold its stake in 2025. The site has a projected annual capacity of over 35 GWh and employs around 900 people, with plans to expand. This diversification allows LGES to serve multiple markets and reduces dependence on any single automaker. Read Full Article

Industrial Engineering Technologists & Technicians

Apply engineering theory and principles to problems of industrial layout or manufacturing production, usually under the direction of engineering staff.

LGES Lands Major Cylindrical Cell Order, Likely Tied to BMW

LG Energy Solution (LGES) has secured a major order of over 100 GWh for its large 46-series cylindrical battery cells, reportedly from BMW, adding to its total order backlog of over 440 GWh. Production of these cells will take place in both Korea and the US, with the Arizona plant supplying batteries to BMW’s US operations and supporting models such as the iX3, i3, i7, and future electric X5. As LGES noted, “stable shipments of cylindrical EV batteries and active response to growing North American ESS demand through capacity expansion resulted in a slight quarter-on-quarter increase in the revenue.” Read Full Article

Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists

Design and implement radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems used to track shipments or goods.

New EV Battery Promises Incredible Six-Minute Charges - As Electric Cars Edge Closer to Gas Pump Refueling Speeds

CATL, a leading Chinese battery manufacturer, has announced the Shenxing 3rd Generation Battery, which can charge from 10% to 98% in just over six minutes and perform efficiently in extreme cold using self-heating technology. This breakthrough rivals and surpasses the latest offerings from competitors like BYD, signaling that electric vehicles (EVs) are nearing the charging convenience of gasoline cars. While high-speed charging infrastructure still needs to expand globally, these advances mark a major leap toward mainstream EV adoption and a bright future for electric transportation. Read Full Article

Chemical Technicians

Run lab tests on solids, liquids & gases to support R&D, quality control, and environmental standards through applied chemistry.

New England Governors Announce Joint Support for Nuclear Energy

Millstone’s two pressurized water reactors in Waterford, Conn., and Seabrook’s single PWR in Seabrook, N.H., are the only power reactors in operation in the New England region, with total capacities at Millstone and Seabrook of 2,122 and 1,248 Net MWe, respectively. The region’s governors, though, may seek to expand these numbers. The governors of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont issued a joint statement in support of exploring next-generation nuclear energy technologies. The bipartisan announcement also urges continued support for local nuclear facilities like Millstone and Seabrook. Read Full Article

Recycling & Reclamation Workers

Prepare and sort materials or products for recycling. Identify and remove hazardous substances. Dismantle components of products such as appliances.

Researchers Use Hydrothermal Carbonization to Turn Distillery Waste into Supercapacitor Electrodes

New designs like CATL’s sodium-ion architecture and solid electrolytes are moving from research labs into real-world applications. Read Full Article

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers & Weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications.

SAP and Cyberwave Deploy Fully Autonomous AI-Powered Robots in Live SAP Logistics Warehouse

Fully autonomous AI-powered robots are now being deployed in real logistics facilities, performing tasks like packaging and shipping while improving efficiency and throughput. Read Full Article

Automotive Engineering Technician

Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency.

What’s Next for EV Batteries in 2026

New cathode materials and battery chemistries are emerging as key enablers of next-generation batteries. Researchers are exploring alternatives to improve cost and performance. These materials are critical for increasing energy density and safety. The work is shaping future EV battery designs. Read Full Article

Team Assemblers

Work as part of a team having responsibility for assembling an entire product or component of a product.

Old Challenges, New Technologies Mark the 2026 Water Landscape — AWWA 2026 Association Outlook

Water utilities in the U.S. are facing major challenges from aging infrastructure and funding gaps while adopting new technologies to improve operations. The EPA estimates nearly $1.3 trillion will be needed over 20 years to modernize water systems. Utilities are increasingly using AI and data-driven tools to manage resources more efficiently and improve service reliability. These innovations are helping address regulatory pressures and long-term sustainability concerns Read Full Article

Software Developers

Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis.

Penzance Announces $4 Billion Data Center Campus in West Virginia

BERKELEY COUNTY, W.V. (Mar. 5, 2026) — Real estate development firm Penzance Management has announced plans to invest $4 billion to develop a large-scale data center campus in Berkeley County, positioning West Virginia to compete for next-generation investments in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure. The proposed Bedington Campus will be located on 548 acres in the Falling Waters District near the Potomac River in the state’s eastern panhandle, close to the Maryland border. At full build-out, the project will span approximately 1.9 million square feet and deliver 600 megawatts of critical IT capacity, making it one of the largest digital infrastructure developments ever announced in the state. Read Full Article

Robotics Technicians

Build, install, test, or maintain robotic equipment or related automated production systems.

Rhode Island Releases Its Roadmap for AI - Some Boundaries Have Yet to be Drawn

“The ability of machines to make predictions, recommendations, or decisions normally done by people.” That’s the definition of artificial intelligence (AI) used in the “action plan” issued Wednesday by a state task force charged with examining the now-omnipresent technology that continues to reshape the surface of all things digital — and many things physical. “AI is one of the most transformative technologies that we will all experience in our lifetime, and Rhode Island is being proactive,” Chris Parisi, president of Trailblaze Marketing and the task force’s vice chair, said during a media briefing Wednesday at Rhode Island College (RIC). “We need all Rhode Islanders, all business leaders, every elected official, to really take this seriously,” Parisi said. “Again, this is the most important thing that we’re doing right now. Believe me, the most transformative technology is going to affect how we work, how we live, how we learn.” The Governor’s AI Task Force was formed by an executive order in February 2024 and first met in July that year, beginning its mission of molding recommendations and policy suggestions for responsible and wise use of AI. Since the task force’s inception, generative AI has become properly unignorable, from the banality of viral videos featuring irate foods to the seriousness of spoofed evidence in court and concerns about the technology’s requisite data centers eating up natural resources.  In December 2024, the task force broke up into six “fact-finding teams” that looked at major areas of concern spanning government, education, health care, finance, small businesses, and manufacturing and defense. The task force wondered: How can Rhode Island stay competitive in this increasingly crowded field? Read Full Article

wattjoule

unigrid-batteries

ZincFive

ZincFive's nickel-zinc batteries deliver safe, sustainable power for mission-critical uses, with non-flammable chemistry and strong climate impact.

Trion

Trion accelerates global energy transformation with advanced battery tech, specializing in high-power LFP and silicon-anode innovation, made in Germany.

Wright Electric

Wright develops zero-emissions electric planes and propulsion, aiming to decarbonize single-aisle aviation and make clean flight affordable worldwide.

2026 Smart Factory Outlook: AI, Robotics, and the New Economic Resilience

Collaborative robots and AI technologies are rapidly expanding within modern factories. These systems enable real-time decision-making, improve quality control, and reduce reliance on manual labor. Automation is becoming essential for competitiveness in manufacturing. Read Full Article

AI in Military and Defence for design and simulation Summit

SAE International and the SAE Media Group proudly present the inaugural AI in Military and Defense for Design and Simulation Digital Summit.  Militaries have traditionally been far ahead on the technology curve, as their enormous budgets and constant need for innovative tools and strategies allow them to spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually on new tech. They constantly need to design, test, and simulate weapons of war and weapons of defense. AI is vital to militaries for design and simulation because it dramatically enhances realism, efficiency, adaptability, and strategic innovation in training and system development. Thus, AI within the military significantly helps with accelerated prototyping, optimization and design permutations, predictive maintenance, real-time decision modeling, scalable training, faster iteration cycles, scenario gaming, and cost reduction. Militaries worldwide, including NATO and the U.S. armed forces, are integrating AI into their design and simulation workflows to stay ahead in an increasingly algorithm-driven era of defense. Therefore, this fully online event will explore cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence by showcasing its transformative role in military design, simulation, and strategic innovation. Your registration includes a free subscription to SAE SmartBrief. Breaking news and trends across the entire mobility ecosystem delivered to your inbox 5x per week.  Learn more here.

polyplus

storagenergy

peak-energy

paraclete-energy

sepion-technologies

Rincell Corporation

Rincell manufactures high‑energy silicon‑graphite and sodium‑ion battery cells for defense, commercial, and electrification markets.

SiLi-ion

SiLi-ion makes silicon nanoparticle anodes for lithium-ion batteries, boosting energy density and cycle life with scalable, cost-effective tech.

Sila Nanotechnologies

Sila develops next-gen silicon anode battery materials for clean energy, emphasizing innovation, scale, and responsible production.

natrion

ionblox

inlyte