Government-funded battery maker files for bankruptcy

From NBCNEWS.com - By Deepa Seetharaman and Ayesha Rascoe , Reuters - A123 Systems, which had received a $249 million grant from the U.S. government, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, giving Republicans fresh ammunition to attack the Obama administration's subsidies for green energy.
The filing came after the lithium-ion battery maker's $465 million rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group collapsed, hobbled by "unanticipated and significant challenges," A123 said on its website.
A123 has agreed to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, for $125 million to Johnson Controls Inc, a leading battery supplier and another recipient of federal green subsidies.
The U.S. Department of Energy allotted about $90 billion for various clean-energy programs through the administration's stimulus package. Of that, at least $813 million went to energy companies that eventually filed for bankruptcy, including A123, Solyndra, Beacon, Abound Solar and EnerDel.
The Solyndra failure has been regularly cited in stump speeches leading up the Nov. 6 presidential election, including those of Romney, who argues that the government should not be in the business of picking corporate winners and losers. Read more

Government-funded battery maker files for bankruptcy