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Fisker Secures More Than 5 GWh/Year in Batteries From CATL for the Ocean SUV

Fisker has signed a contract with CATL to ensure that the Ocean SUV will have all the batteries it will need when it enters series production in November 2022. The agreement secures Fisker will have more than 5 GWh in battery packs every year until 2025.
Fisker Ocean 20 photos
Photo: Fisker
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It is not clear why the deal does not extend further in time. The lifespan of most models is six years, double the time covered by the agreement with CATL. The biggest battery supplier in the world will give the Fisker Ocean LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) battery packs.

Tesla also CATL’s LFP cells in the Model 3 and Model Y made in China. They have a lower energy density than NMC or NCA but are cheaper, more robust, prefer to be charged to their total capacity, and are less prone to thermal runaways. CATL once said some of its LFP battery packs could last 2 million kilometers. That’s not the LFP cells it supplies to Tesla, but they could be on the Fisker Ocean.

Regarding the NMC cells, Fisker only said that they will have “very high levels of energy density.” Henrik Fisker tweeted about that and was pretty happy with what CATL will have to offer to his company’s first electric SUV. A while ago, CATL said it had developed cells with 300 Wh/kg. The best NMC and NCA cells currently available deliver around 260 Wh/kg.

Fisker and CATL said they have been working together since 2020 to create these high-energy-dense battery packs. Both chemistry options would be able to cope with 250 kW fast chargers. Considering some 800V can deal with fast chargers with capacities higher than 350 kW, it seems the Ocean will work at lower voltages.

The companies would now be involved with testing and validation of the technology with Ocean’s first prototypes. They are currently working on directly charging the battery pack with the solar cells that will be on the optional solar roof. Magna Steyr will manufacture the Ocean for Fisker in Graz, Austria.

Fisker promised to reveal more information on the Ocean at the LA Auto Show. That’s where the production version of the electric SUV will be presented when the event opens on November 17, 2021, two weeks from now.

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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