■ Rainer Zietlow sets a new record for the highest climb in an electric vehicle
■ The electric vehicle, powered by LG Energy Solution’s battery cells and modules, reaches an altitude of 5,816 meters on Bolivian volcano
SEOUL, May 24, 2022 – LG Energy Solution (LGES; KRX: 373220) became a part of history today, as Rainer Zietlow, a world-record driver, set another world record with an electric vehicle powered by LGES batteries.
Zietlow and his Challenge4 team set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the highest altitude achieved in electric cars, by driving up the dormant Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia, reaching 5,816 meters in altitude.
The team’s vehicle of choice, the Volkswagen ID.4 GTX, is powered by LGES’s battery cells and modules that employ high energy density for long-distance driving, high-speed charging and even high-altitude drives.
Zietlow’s team successfully broke the previous record on May 18, and was awarded with the official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS certificate in La Paz, Bolivia on May 23. Previously, in 2021, Zietlow achieved the title for the longest continuous journey by electric vehicle in a single country by driving through the U.S. with the VW ID.4.
The VW ID.4 is based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB), the first modular platform for electric vehicles designed by Volkswagen. Since 2016, LG Energy Solution and Volkswagen have collaborated in developing MEB platform for I.D. Family, and it is currently being applied to both ID.3 and ID.4.
“Congratulations to Zietlow and his team for setting a new world altitude record with our batteries,” said LG Energy Solution in a statement. “Their incredible accomplishment is yet another milestone added to GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the longest EV journey achieved in 2021, which has already shown LGES battery’s high endurance level. This altitude record once again serves as a proof of LGES battery-powered EV’s outstanding performance, even in the harshest driving environment.”
“Our goal was to show everyone the potential of electromobility by demonstrating how electric vehicles maintain their top level of performance even at extreme altitudes,” said Zietlow.
LG Energy Solution has been leading the battery manufacturing industry since 1992 based on its long-standing legacy in research and development (R&D) of groundbreaking battery technology. In 2009, the company became the world’s first battery manufacturer to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and has been expanding its portfolio to a diverse range of products and customers ever since. In the last decade alone, LG Energy Solution has invested USD 4.5 billion in R&D which has resulted in the company now holding a vast number of intellectual properties – nearly 23,000 patents worldwide – in materials and core technologies.
The Challenge4 team’s record-breaking journey has been chronicled at www.vwid4-highaltitude.com, where visitors can view images and explore a map displaying the route it took up the mountain. As with every project since 2005, Rainer Zietlow is once again supporting an SOS children’s village for a charitable purpose.
** More images and videos are available at ID.4 GTX High Altitude Record official webpage (www.vwid4-highaltitude.com)