The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday delayed a decision in a trade secrets case involving South Korean battery makers LG Chem and SK Innovation to Feb. 10.

South Korea's LG Chem plans to more than double production capacity of battery cells it makes in China for Tesla electric vehicles (EV) next year, sources said, to keep up with its U.S. client's growth in the biggest car market.

LG Chem, the world's top electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, is in talks with a "couple" of automakers to create joint ventures to produce automotive batteries, Chief Executive Officer Hak Cheol Shin told Reuters on Friday.

South Korea's LG Chem, an electric car battery supplier for Tesla and GM said on Thursday it plans to separate its battery business into a new company as the electric vehicle market takes off.

South Korea's LG Chem plans to start producing batteries for Tesla vehicles at a domestic factory this year after the U.S. electric carmaker raised orders to cope with demand, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

In 2018, South Korea's SK Innovation beat its larger, local rival LG Chem to a multibillion dollar deal to supply German carmaker Volkswagen with electric vehicle batteries in the United States.

A feud between two South Korean battery makers escalated on Friday as SK Innovation said it plans to sue bigger rival LG Chem in the United States over alleged patent infringement related to electric vehicles.

South Korea's LG Chem on April 6 completed what it described as the world's largest battery plant for electric cars and vowed to become a major producer by 2015. The company said the factory in Ochang, south of Seoul, has enough capacity to produce lithium-ion batteries for 100,000 of the green autos a year.

LG Chem, Korea's largest chemical firm by sales, reported Monday a 11.6 percent rise in its first quarter net profit largely due to a slight price rebound in its petrochemical products and a weaker local currency against the greenback.