Ener1, the parent company of EnerDel, an electric car battery manufacturer that received a $118 million grant from the Obama administration has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Alex Sorokin, the CEO for Ener1, said the company suffered when demand for the batteries dropped as fewer Americans than expected opted for electric cars. “This was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our company,” Sorokin said. "We moved aggressively to reduce costs and shift focus when the marketplace did not evolve as quickly as anticipated. Our business plan was impacted when demand for lithium-ion batteries slowed due to lower-than-expected adoption for electric passenger vehicles."