Hyundai 1st In the World to Launch LPG Hybrid

It probably is surprising to many in the West that Hyundai, of South Korea, is now the 5th largest automobile manufacter in the world. To those who do know this, it should come as no surprise that Hyundai and Kia (now one company under the Hyundai banner) have set some industry firsts along the way. However, the importance of these breakthroughs could be very significant on the world stage. One of the most important of these new introductions is the Hyundai Alante LPG hybrid and the Kia Forte LPG hybid. They both use liquified petroleum gas rather than gasoline or diesel fuel. In addition, South Korea's LG Chemical has supplied the lithium-ion polymer batteries for the new hybrid cars. These cars are the first-in-the-world LGP hybrids and the first-in-the-world hybrids to use lithium-ion polymer batteries.

Both the Kia Forte (shown above) and the Hyundai Alantra boast a 1.6 liter displacement LPG engine coupled to a 15KW electric engine powered by the lithium-ion polymer batteries. This combination gives the auto an impressive 70 MPG and an even better 102g CO2 per kilometer driven! These stats are indeed very impressive. According to autopress.co.uk, the continuosly variable transmission is not quite ready for prime time, but give the Koreans another few years and the I suspect all of the kinks will be ironed out putting Hyundai in the winning circle when it comes to "green" cars.

However, the idea for this post began when I heard the GM CEO say, the day after emerging from bankruptcy, that his car company needed to invest heavily in battery technology. Given the state-of-the-art in South Korea, it seems that the proverbial horse has already left the proberbial barn; closing the doors now is not meaningful. My thinking was simple, if the LG Chem batteries worked well, then GM should develop a significant relationship with LG Chem. However, after a quick search I found a number of articles on the selection of the battery supplier for the Chevy Volt (a GM product). It seems that, in January of 2009, LG Chem was chosen, but there are many people in the US who feel that a foriegn source of batteries is not good (don't want to re-create the whole oil dependancy problem with a different energy source).

The source of the batteries for the Forte and Alantra hybrids is LG Chemical, an offshoot of LG, one of Korea's largest conglomerates. LG Chemical's US battery subsidiary is Compact Power.

The lithium-ion polymer batteries uses the same technology originally designed for the cell phone and gadget market here in Korea.

So why re-invent the wheel? GM, if you want to invest in a new energy technology, look at developing something in which other significant players don't already have a lead. Look for something radical, industry changing. I can get behind that! Besides, as a US taxpayer, it is my money too!