Automakers are still shaving back production plans due to semiconductor shortages, but the worst-case scenario for North America just got a tiny bit better.

Envision AESC was one of the industry's first EV battery producers. Now it's committing $2 billion to boost its U.S. market presence.

Japan's Envision AESC will invest $2 billion to build a battery-cell and module plant in Kentucky to supply Mercedes-Benz and multiple other automakers.

The industry is settling into the new year acknowledging that it's not out of the woods yet on chip shortage disruptions.

The year started off with a minor supply chain irritation that has now blown up into an industry crisis.

Huge investments are going into U.S. EV battery production capacity. But that will require upstream parts and materials that are not common to the North American industry.