Caterpillar, through its investment arm Caterpillar Venture Capital, has made an investment in Fisker, a manufacturer of electric cars and developer of battery technology.
In a press release, Fisker says the investment, the amount of which was not specified, is intended to spur the development of “solid-state battery technology with applications in construction, energy, storage, transportation and mining.”
Fisker describes solid-state batteries as the automotive battery technology of the future. As the Verge explains, the batteries are different from the lithium-ion batteries powering cars today in that they “don’t use liquid electrolytes to move energy around,” and are instead “made of solid and ‘dry’ conductive material.”
Fisker says solid-state technology has several benefits over the lithium-ion batteries used to power cars today including, “electrodes with high energy densities, enhanced safety, faster charge times and lower costs.”
