---
title: "Caterpillar Invests in Fisker to Accelerate Development of Solid-State Batteries"
description: "Caterpillar will invest an undisclosed amount in Henrik Fisker's latest car company."
date: "2018-10-24"
modified: "2019-06-11"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/24408/caterpillar-invests-in-fisker-to-accelerate-development-of-solid-state-batteries"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Electric Vehicles"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "automotive news"
  - "Caterpillar"
  - "EV Batteries"
  - "Fisker"
  - "Fisker EMotion"
  - "investment"
  - "News"
  - "Tech"
---

# Caterpillar Invests in Fisker to Accelerate Development of Solid-State Batteries

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/fisker-emotion-solid-state.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Fisker Inc., the second automaker founded by [famed car designer Henrik Fisker](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19002/henrik-fisker-talks-batteries-and-autonomous-transportation.md>), just scored a new investor. Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., a subsidiary of heavy-machinery company Caterpillar, will [invest](<https://www.founderscircle.com/who-we-serve>) an undisclosed amount of money and resources in the automaker. This will drive the development of new battery technology Fisker claims will lead to a breakthrough in electric car performance.

Fisker is betting that solid-state batteries will surpass the lithium-ion batteries used in all current electric cars. Solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte rather than the liquid used in conventional batteries, hence the name. This is supposed to yield greater energy density, meaning more electricity can be stored in a given volume. More storage capacity means more range, addressing one of the biggest drawbacks to current electric cars.

If Fisker's claims for the solid-state batteries prove true, the technology could be a game-changer. Fisker has said they will eventually allow electric cars to travel 500 miles on a charge, and recharge in just one minute.

Such predictions have many companies [jumping on the solid-state battery bandwagon](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/23586/volkswagen-invests-100-million-in-solid-state-battery-firm-quantumscape.md>). Dyson, the British company known for cordless vacuum cleaners is [planning to build electric cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/23248/dyson-to-invest-in-six-test-tracks-for-its-electric-car-program.md>) also owns Sakti3, one of the first companies dedicated to solid-state batteries. BMW and Volkswagen are partnering with solid-state battery firms Solid Power and QuantumScape, respectively. Toyota has said its first mass-market electric car will use the technology. So far though, no company has adapted solid-state batteries for use in a volume production car.

However, Fisker's first planned production car, [the EMotion](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/11985/the-fisker-emotion-has-been-fully-unmasked.md>) (yes, really), will not use solid-state batteries, according to [Green Car Reports](<https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1114816_fisker-emotion-what-we-learned-about-300-mile-electric-car-at-ces>). In order to get it into production quicker (Fisker previously quoted a late-2018 timeframe) the company will use conventional lithium-ion batteries supplied by LG Chem--which also supplies batteries for the Chevrolet Bolt EV, among others.

Even with conventional batteries, Fisker is making ambitious claims for the EMotion. The electric luxury sedan will have a range of 400 miles, with a nine-minute recharge to reach a range of 125 miles, according to Fisker. The car will have all-wheel drive, a top speed of 161 miles per hour, and a base price of $130,000. A it's typical of Henrik Fisker, the design is flamboyant, featuring "butterfly" doors that swing up in supercar-like fashion.

Launching a new car company, especially one based around a new technology isn't easy, something Henrik Fisker already knows. His previous venture, Fisker automotive, sold a handful of its Karma plug-in hybrid sedans before declaring bankruptcy (Fisker had left his namesake company by then). The remains of Fisker Automotive were eventually bought by Chinese auto-parts giant Wanxiang and reconstituted as Karma Automotive. The company is now selling an updated version of its original car [as the Karma Revero](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/13157/the-2018-karma-revero-exhumes-fiskers-tesla-fighting-sedan-from-its-grave.md>).

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)