Donut Lab's battery has all the characteristics of an advanced lithium-ion battery, according to a new investigation.
The Finnish startup could have been misled by a company called CT Coatings, which claimed to have the chops to build screen-printed solid-state cells.
Finnish startup Donut Lab's claims of having developed the world's first production-ready all-solid-state battery are false, according to a new investigation by Ryan Hughes of the Ziroth YouTube channel.
Donut Lab said its solid-state battery, which would power the electric Verge Motorcycles models, could charge in five minutes, last 100,000 cycles, deliver 400 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, and remain immune to thermal runaway. The battery would also be completely free from rare earth materials, the company claimed. Typical lithium-ion batteries pack half the energy density and last a couple thousand cycles, so the startup’s claims were bold, to say the least.
Battery companies don't expect all-solid-state technology to be mass-produced until the end of the decade. That’s exactly why the little-known startup's claims of having beaten them all to the punch sent shockwaves through the industry.
