LauncherOne reaches orbit and a new maglev concept: 10 top stories of the week 22 Jan 2021 Professional Engineering Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne is released in mid-air during an earlier drop test (Credit: Virgin Orbit/ Greg Robinson) Nissan Sunderland plant ‘secure for the long term’ Nissan’s Sunderland plant, which employs 6,000 people and supports almost 70,000 jobs in the supply chain, is ‘secure for the long term’ following the UK-EU trade deal, the manufacturer has told the BBC. The Japanese firm also said it will move additional battery production close to the plant. StoreDot releases 5-minute charge EV batteries Range anxiety amongst potential electric vehicle (EV) buyers could soon be ‘eliminated’ thanks to the commercial launch of the first ever five-minute charge lithium-ion battery, its developer has said. Israeli firm StoreDot announced the availability of its first-generation battery samples this week. The firm replaced graphite in the cell’s anode with metalloid nanoparticles.