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Donut Lab revealed its solid-state battery to the world at CES 2026, to the amazement of many and to the dismay of others shocked by their achievement and performance claims. No other company has a practical fully solid-state battery in production as of this writing. Many, like Quantumscape, have tried for many years, only to find that limitations exist, like the need for extreme mechanical pressures required to maintain contact between cathode and electrode. Such measures require bulky and heavy support, obviating benefits of solid-state operation. Many have resorted to semi-solid-state as a compromise. Semi-solid-state batteries were used by NIO for battery swapping, but they ceased operation since cost and other practical factors proved unsatisfactory.
Not long after Donut Lab’s solid-state battery presentation, howls of derision and a cavalcade of insults and skepticism followed. Much of the criticism, unsurprisingly, came from established players in the battery market with vested interests in legacy batteries, companies which failed to produce a practical solid-state battery, proving Upton Sinclair’s dictum: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it.” Just because it is new and innovative does not mean it is real and it works, and it is prudent to request data. Some waited for data to decide, while others impatiently jumped to conclusions. In this case, in response to the many critics who said it was impossible and a scam, an unusual amount of proof beyond normal practice in the battery industry was provided. It’s not that large legacy battery makers do not provide proof. They usually provide data sheets carefully constructed to show their products in the best light for intended applications, and the boring engineering details are left in the background that show the limits. Nothing to see here, just the usual. They seldom provide such extended public proof, such as disassembly and extensive tests by independent testers.
