As the rumor mill turns: GM says no battery supplier decision made, Compact Power declares themselves ready

More fodder for the rumor mill has arrived in the form of conflicting statements. When last we visited the set of the soap opera we call "the contest to be the battery supplier for the Volt", GM's new 40 mile PHEV (or EREV), a British media source, the Guardian, had written that LG Chem's battery had powered a Volt mule. When coupled with the statement Mr'. Lutz had made to AutoblogGreen that only one battery was being concentrated on, there was speculation that GM had made it's decision and that the winner would be LG Chem/Compact Power. Today we hear from another British media outlet, this time the International Herald Tribune and a GM spokesperson.

The article titled, "Battery supplier declares itself ready for GM electric car " the Tribune delves into the details of the battery competition with its focus on the what is perceived to be the superior entry from LG Chem/Compact Power. It's bold headline come from a statement by an unnamed "senior executive." Contrast that with a statement made by GM spokesperson Rob Peterson who, according to GM Volt fan site GM-Volt.com, says, "The development of the battery for the Chevrolet Volt is a significant technical undertaking, we are not in a position to limit our options at this point. Both Conti/A123 and CPI/LG Chem bring tremendous intellectual strengths to the development of batteries and we continue to work and test solutions from both supplier groups. Speculation aside, a final supplier has not been chosen. We'll let everyone know when it has." A pretty strong statement of denial, though that is what we would expect them to say up until the time they make the official announcement. Don't count A123 Systems out of the running yet though. As Big Brown at the Belmont reminded us last weekend, there's no such thing as a "sure bet."

[Source: International Herald Tribune]