In January, there was a lot of hype around an announcement from Finnish company Donut Lab: It claimed to have created the world's first production-ready solid-state battery.
The Donut battery, marketed as the energy source behind the Verge TS Pro motorcycle, was allegedly a "pioneer" in bringing this new battery technology to a production-ready electric vehicle. During CES 2026, Donut Lab's phone-size powerhouse was even a finalist for CNET's Best Transportation category, where we noted that the cell promised "huge improvements in energy density, charging speed and safety."
But it now appears to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. The battery is allegedly using existing lithium-ion technology, not sodium-ion solid-state chemistry, according to new reports following an investigation from battery researcher Ryan Inis Hughes, known for his YouTube channel Ziroth.
Hughes, along with a team of over 20 specialists, presented electrochemical evidence, including voltage curves and cell expansion data, that conclusively identifies the battery as lithium-ion. In his YouTube video, Hughes interviews an executive in the battery industry who had dealings with companies developing the technology Donut Lab was promising. Hughes also consulted with battery experts on the company's claims, such as the Donut Battery's purported 400 watt-hours-per-kilogram energy density -- a "holy grail" milestone for batteries -- and its 100,000-cycle life.
A representative for Donut Lab did not immediately...
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