Caterpillar Announces Investment in Lithos Energy to Further Battery Pack Development and Manufacturing
Caterpillar Inc. announced the company is investing in Lithos Energy Inc., a U.S.-based battery technology company that produces lithium-ion battery packs.
“Caterpillar’s collaboration with Lithos supports our commitment to delivering robust electrified products and solutions for our customers,” said Joe Creed, group president of Caterpillar’s Energy & Transportation segment. “Cat equipment – regardless of its power source – is designed to operate in the most demanding conditions. Lithos’ experience manufacturing battery packs for similarly demanding environments will be an asset as we continue our electrified product development.”
Headquartered in San Rafael, Calif., Lithos specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing shock resistant and high-performance battery solutions for applications including off-road and marine.
“We are extremely excited to be working with Caterpillar, especially at a time when the leading construction machinery and equipment manufacturer is entering a new age of efficiency and reduced emission operation,” said James Meredith, CEO of Lithos Energy. “Caterpillar’s forward thinking, commitment to electrification and leadership position on the global stage for equipment manufacturers make this an ideal match. This funding will enable Lithos to accelerate technology development and scale up manufacturing capacity as we look forward to providing increasingly advanced product offerings to our new and existing customers.”
Caterpillar’s investment in Lithos further demonstrates Caterpillar’s commitment to support customers in the energy transition with lower-carbon advanced power technologies for its hybrid and full-electric machines and power generation products. The company recently displayed four electric construction machine prototypes, including battery prototypes, at bauma 2022 in Munich, Germany, and demonstrated its first battery electric 793 large mining truck at its Tucson Proving Ground in Arizona.
Lithos Energy is an engineering firm that designs, builds and integrates lithium-ion battery systems. Founded by two MIT engineers who had previously worked for some of the biggest electric vehicle companies in the United States, Lithos Energy provides custom energy storage solutions to a range of markets.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.