DEARBORN, MI - Ford Motor Co. has chosen Compact Power Inc., a subsidiary of Korean battery maker LG Chem, to supply lithium-ion battery packs for an electrified version of the Ford Focus, the Associated Press reported. 

The electrified Ford Focus is expected to hit showrooms next year. 

Compact Power is building a battery factory in Holland, Mich. The company will also be a supplier for the Chevrolet Volt. 

Until the Michigan plant is up and running, the battery cells will be manufactured in South Korea by LG Chem and shipped to the U.S., where Compact Power will assemble them into packs in Michigan. 

President Barack Obama will travel to Holland on Thursday, July 15, to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Compact Power factory. 

Ford's assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., will build the electrified version of the Focus. The vehicle is expected to have a range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. 

Compact Power received $151 million from a federal stimulus program announced last August to open the $303 million plant. The facility is expected to employ about 450 people by 2013. 

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