France and Germany commit to European electric battery industry

France and Germany agreed on Thursday to jointly invest in the European production of electric vehicle batteries, taking on the United States and China in what is emerging as one of the world's most competitive industries.French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the goal was to establish two production plants over the next four years, one in France and one in Germany, with around 1,500 employees in each.Initially the plants would produce enhanced liquid batteries before moving to solid-state