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Current US battery production falls woefully short in the face of rapidly growing demand for electric vehicle and storage batteries.

The US has only a small number of domestic, large battery manufacturing factories, including Tesla’s Gigafactory that operates in partnership with Japan’s Panasonic. And just last week, KORE Power announced it will build the first lithium-ion battery factory wholly owned by a US company, in Arizona.

Both innovation and domestic battery production needs to scale quickly and efficiently, and the battery skills gap, among other things, need to be tackled in order to do that. Electrek spoke with Dr. Greg Less, technical director at the University of Michigan Battery Lab, about what the US needs to do to meet that demand.

Electrek: Are battery engineers with lab experience in short supply in the US, and if so, why is that the case?

Dr. Greg Less: It depends upon what level of experience you are looking for. If you want people who have done some basic electrochemistry, made some watch batteries, and written papers on the science of batteries, there are a decent number of people graduating from the universities.

If you want people with experience making actual, full-scale cells that can be placed into a device or vehicle, there are far fewer. The reason for that is that lithium-ion batteries are still relatively new. They were first commercialized in Japan in the early 1990s. Thirty years later, we are still trying to get a domestic production base off the ground. There were some failed attempts in the early 2000s, but other than that, we have mostly relied on purchasing cells from Asian countries.

Now that we are changing course and trying to build the supply chain here, we are being forced to import talent through JVs with Asian companies. I think in time the knowledge will filter over, and we will have the necessary talent base, though a lot of the information that is needed is protected through trade secrets, so there will need to be movement within the industry for the knowledge to truly disseminate.

Electrek: What could the US federal and state governments do to help close the battery skills gap?

Dr. Greg Less: We need to start making the cells and packs domestically. We need to make sure that the basic principles of battery manufacturing and safety are taught to all employees so that they aren’t just pushing a button. Funding educational programs that focus not just on the basic science but also the labor aspects is key.

We need battery education programs at all levels: retraining of labor forces, community college programs, bachelors, master, and PhD level. These programs don’t exist right now – it will take money to develop them and house them.

Electrek: How could universities expand learning opportunities for battery engineers, and in your opinion, how quickly could they scale up?

Dr. Greg Less: It really depends on what the goal of the education is. Right now, there are many university professors doing battery research. If a student wants to engage in that research, the opportunities are there.

The problem comes in at scale and application. Most university research isn’t focused on large-scale cells because that is beyond the scope of basic science. Most companies aren’t interested in watch batteries and basic science.

To address this gap, there needs to be more university facilities like the University of Michigan Battery Lab where students can use machines that are much closer to production scale to create large-format, high-capacity cells for their research. Funding agencies need to make larger format cells the required deliverables and give sufficient funding to allow that large-scale research to happen.

None of this, however, addresses the laborer on the factory floor. The United Auto Worker displaced from transmission assembly doesn’t need to know how to design a battery, she needs to know how to operate the cell fabrication machines safely, reliably, etc. That is where the retraining courses and community colleges come in.

We are talking about whole new curricula and programs that will require expert instructors and large-scale equipment for these students to learn on. The UM Battery Lab had an initial investment of $10 million for hiring and equipment. A similar level of investment will need to be made for all of these training centers.

Electrek: Is there a stopgap solution that the US could utilize while academia, government, and businesses work out how to close the skills gap?

Dr. Greg Less: The stopgap to date has been to form joint ventures between US companies and Chinese/Korean/Japanese companies. The expertise is being provided by the partners.

Electrek: You are at the University of Michigan Battery Lab. What’s working well, and what can be improved upon to meet growing needs of electric vehicles?

Dr. Greg Less: The UM Battery Lab is running at capacity. Expanding capacity, increasing accessibility for student researchers is going to be key.

It would be very beneficial to us, at the university, if we were able to get a clear idea from industry and government on what they want the next generation of graduates to look like.

What are the skills and the knowledge base that is required to make our alumni prime, valuable candidates on the job market?

Read more: KORE to build 12 GWh lithium-ion battery factory in Arizona


Greg Less is the technical director at the University of Michigan Battery Lab, which was developed in cooperation with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Ford Motor Company. He’s responsible for the day-to-day operation of the laboratory. Less earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the Battery Lab, he was a research scientist with battery companies T/J Technologies and A123 Systems.

Photo: Steve Fecht/General Motors


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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’

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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'

Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.

The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.

“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.

“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.

“An underdog that bites back, just like me.

“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”

Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.

Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.

More on Snoop Dogg

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The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”

Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.

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Police taking no further action after investigating Kneecap’s Glastonbury show

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Police taking no further action after investigating Kneecap's Glastonbury show

Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.

Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.

However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.

The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.

Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.

The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).

Kneecap's Liam Og O Hannaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London
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Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA

Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.

They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.

Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.

The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”

“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.

The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.

Read more from Sky News:
Snoop Dogg becomes a co-owner of Swansea FC
American Idol TV executive and husband shot dead

One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.

Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.

He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.

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Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin

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Tomorrowland: 'Devastating' blaze destroys main stage at major festival - two days before it was due to begin

A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.

Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.

Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.

fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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The fire gutted the main stage


 fire which destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control

The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.

It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.

Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.

A fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky


The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.

More on Belgium

The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.

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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.

“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen who said fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’

Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.

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