GM picks LG Chem to make Volt batteries

General Motors Corp. named LG Chem Ltd. of South Korea as the lithium-ion battery supplier for its Chevrolet Volt electric car. LG Chem will make the battery cells in Korea and ship them to the U.S., where they will be assembled into packs at an unspecified GM factory in Michigan. GM’s Volt line director, Tony Posawatz, said GM chose LG Chem because of its flat-cell design that dissipates heat better and stores more energy than competitors’ cylinder-shaped cells. (January 13, 2009)