General Motors is forming a joint venture with Posco Chemical of South Korea to build a North American battery materials plant as it brings more steps in the electric vehicle supply chain under its umbrella.

California’s largest but rapidly shrinking lake is at the forefront of efforts to make the U.S. a major global player in the production of lithium.

Ford Motor Co. announced May 3 it is increasing its investment in a producer of solid-state batteries, yet another move in the automaker’s push to establish a sustainable supply of the components needed to power a coming wave of electric vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said the U.S. must begin building batteries for the coming wave of electric vehicles in order to avoid supply disruptions like the semiconductor shortage now shutting American auto factories.

Automakers are investing billions of dollars to bring new electric vehicles to consumers in the U.S. and other global markets, but their success hinges on securing the most critical and expensive component: the battery.

Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury-car brand is in talks to add China’s BYD Co. as a supplier of batteries used in its premium electric vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.

Electric vehicles and solar tend to get lumped together as partners in the climate-friendly push to phase out fossil fuels. Now they’re competing head-to-head for high-tech components that have been in short supply.

The U.S. push to challenge China’s dominance in the production and sale of electric vehicles has at least one weak link: Most of the raw materials needed to make the batteries are dug elsewhere.

All major truck builders and several startups are preparing to develop, test and market either battery-electric vehicles or fuel-cell/battery models in the very near term. Replacing diesel-powered Class 8 trucks, though, will present numerous challenges to an industry accustomed to proven and reliable diesel-­engine technology.

Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn., electric vehicle assembly plant will use batteries produced at a $1.67 billion factory in Georgia.