Donut Lab alleged Solid State Battery launched at CES 2026

[LogicDude]

Interesting, over on Linkedin they made the announcement a week ago and claim to be about to go into production, yet they aren't recruiting. In fact, their last recruitment campaign was for 2 legal counsels, and that was 3 months ago.

I already thanked you, but I have to quote you and say that you made a fantastic observation!  When you are doing something like these Donut Lab characters, it is very difficult to cover all of your bases.

[EEVblog]

Why does the PSU show 80A SINKING current?
It's an SM15K series 500V PSU
https://www.deltaelektronika.com/products/sm15k-series
https://www.deltaelektronika.com/sites/default/files/2025-12/SM15K_prod_manual_V202512-1.pdf
https://www.deltaelektronika.com/sites/default/files/2025-12/SM15K_DTS_V202511-2.pdf

[LogicDude]

Why does the PSU show 80A SINKING current?
It's an SM15K series 500V PSU

I have never played with a power supply like this because I am Old School.  In looking at the manual it looks like they set it to 80A max when sinking current.  But of course it's supposedly charging a battery cell and it would never need to sink current.  I was a little shocked to read that when it sinks current it pumps the power back into the AC mains.  It makes sense of course but my "tech clock" stopped a long time ago.

I just noticed that the power supply is in constant-voltage mode.  And we are supposed to believe that over several minutes the master-slave-slave triple power supply configuration responded to the Donut Lab battery cell "welcoming" a continuous 270 amps being pumped into it.  Almost like the battery cell was a near short-circuit.

Also, we are supposed to believe that the charging efficiency was near-100% because they were pumping 1.4 kW into that little battery cell about the size of a slice of bread.  In my mind it should have become burnt toast in about seven seconds.

It doesn't make any sense as far as I am concerned.  I think it's just a basic video editing job we are looking at.  If you are a good video editor you can make it all look seamless and perfect quite easily.

[EEVblog]

It doesn't make any sense as far as I am concerned.  I think it's just a basic video editing job we are looking at.  If you are a good video editor you can make it all look seamless and perfect quite easily.

No need for video editing, it's trivial to make this look legit. Just have a load or other batteries in parallel off camera. 270A is going out all right, just not to that one innocent little cell and those relatively flimsy connections.
Let people infer that it's just going to that one cell.

[SiliconWizard]

The great thing is that you can beat physics with videos.

[AVGresponding]

1.4kW with a CV of 4.1V shakes out to ~341A. Nothing about this even comes close to adding up

[LogicDude]

1.4kW with a CV of 4.1V shakes out to ~341A. Nothing about this even comes close to adding up

Yes indeed.  I was too lazy to check that from my comfy armchair.

Between this and the other thread, enough material has been accumulated for a really good debunking video.

[Electrodynamic]

It doesn't make any sense as far as I am concerned.  I think it's just a basic video editing job we are looking at.  If you are a good video editor you can make it all look seamless and perfect quite easily.

No need for video editing, it's trivial to make this look legit. Just have a load or other batteries in parallel off camera. 270A is going out all right, just not to that one innocent little cell and those relatively flimsy connections.
Let people infer that it's just going to that one cell.

Agree and many are making a mountain out of a mole hill imo.

I was involved with a startup about 10 years ago working on something similar to this. We were looking at high volume graphene production for super capacitors. This technology is coming whether people believe it or not. The capacitor tech is well known and the only limitation is cheap industrial level graphene production.

Donut labs is also giving textbook graphene super capacitor specs we all knew about 10 years ago. Fast charging, high life cycle and a very high energy density. Nothing new here.

In fact there is a very good chance they hooked up with a company using a roll to roll graphene CVD process we looked at.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K309K-DFqpE,  UNLIMITED GRAPHENE - MIT Graphene Roll to Roll CVD Explained

This guy has some neat video's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hHoL77QDkg, Making Graphene could KILL you... but we did it anyway?!

[LogicDude]

Donut labs is also giving textbook graphene super capacitor specs we all knew about 10 years ago. Fast charging, high life cycle and a very high energy density. Nothing new here.

If it was actually a capacitor we would see the voltage increasing during the charging process but we don't see that.

And the charging clip is a fraud, so we are left with zero information.  We will get information by the end of April when presumably there will be complaints on social media from buyers that the motorcycle has not been delivered to any customers.

[Bud]

I agree the clip was a fraud. As to buying a motorcycle- i think the fraudsters were hiring legal councils for a reason. By now they likely have a defense plan and/or exit plan. The motorcycle price is high, who would buy a motorcycle to just disassemble it to get to the battery, and if you did what are you going to see, is the buyer an expert to determine the technology. The motorcycle purchase may come with a legal condition prohibiting disassembly. And even if you do and determine the battery is of an existing technology they will say you bought a wrong motorcycle model.

[Siwastaja]

If it was actually a capacitor we would see the voltage increasing during the charging process but we don't see that.

This, obviously. This is where many armchair speculators have gone 180deg wrong:
* Voltage is constant over the charge cycle, it should be increasing if this is a battery
* Oh so this must be a capacitor

 

So, they have never charged a capacitor.

Sure, for a battery, charge voltage is not constant during charge. It increases. But for a capacitor, it increases even more, namely, linearly with more charge (Ah) put in.

If it was a capacitor and you charged it from 0% SoC with the final CV voltage, you would be doing that classical (and confusing to many) 50% efficiency experiment. Actually, for a capacitor, the efficiency can be estimated from the voltage difference between the expected straight curve and the actual voltage at the output of the power supply. And with high power like that, you can't afford much below 98% or so, or you would have a serious thermal problem.

So it's neither a battery nor a capacitor, it's just a scam.

[SteveThackery]

The motorcycle price is high, who would buy a motorcycle to just disassemble it to get to the battery

A competitor, obviously. Companies do it all the time. It is normal practice in the motor industry (although less so nowadays because almost all products are collaborative efforts between so-called competitors).

.... and if you did what are you going to see, is the buyer an expert to determine the technology.

Yes, an industry competitor would have the means to evaluate the technology.

The motorcycle purchase may come with a legal condition prohibiting disassembly.

I doubt that would be legally enforceable. But I'm sure a competitor would do it anyway and take the minimal risk involved.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The motorcycle purchase may come with a legal condition prohibiting disassembly.

I doubt that would be legally enforceable. But I'm sure a competitor would do it anyway and take the minimal risk involved.

Unless it's only leased, there's nothing they can do to prevent it.

[Electrodynamic]

I agree the clip was a fraud. As to buying a motorcycle- i think the fraudsters were hiring legal councils for a reason. By now they likely have a defense plan and/or exit plan. The motorcycle price is high, who would buy a motorcycle to just disassemble it to get to the battery, and if you did what are you going to see, is the buyer an expert to determine the technology. The motorcycle purchase may come with a legal condition prohibiting disassembly. And even if you do and determine the battery is of an existing technology they will say you bought a wrong motorcycle model.

I was involved in a few startups and legal council is standard. Imagine spending years of time and effort on R&D for a technology and you get to the point of selling a viable product. Now we need investors and contracts and employees and facilities and the list goes on. The problem is after all this time and effort we can be pretty sure some lazy douche bag who did no work is going to try to steal the technology.

As we know this psychotic if not evil behavior has become rampant and many think they are entitled to steal whatever they want. Ideas, technology, companies, resources and now even other countries like Greenland. Here's the thing Bud, if we let evil people steal from whomever they want it's just a matter of time before we are next on the list. History has proven this is generally the case.

So ya, if Donut Labs was my company I would lawyer up and make it my job to put these douche bags who steal from others in prison where they belong. It's not just business it's theft.

[paul cotter]

If one invents some new advancement, patent it. Not bullet proof but it will go a fair way to restrict rip-offs.

[Randy222]

Imagine spending years of time and effort on R&D for a technology and you get to the point of selling a viable product. Now we need investors and contracts and employees and facilities and the list goes on.

Hmmmm. But almost viable.

It kinda sounds familiar, deja vu.

[Randy222]

The fiasco in Venezuela is a good example and trump claimed it was all about oil and not drugs. He literally claimed drugs was a bs excuse to illegally take out the sovereign leader of another country over oil. As most leaders have said, "it's about the oil stupid".

In proper order.

Drugs were an issue worldwide, now it's less.
The oil seized was sanctioned oil.
A dictator(s) that the people of that country have hated for 27yrs, done.

USA was the only flag to have nutsack to do all 3. Job well done, just ask the people of Venezuela.
MX is next.

[Randy222]

How is Donut a breakthrough? Donut has 500Wh/kg "breakthrough" but competitors already surpass that?

Chery's Exeed says they have 600Wh/kg solid state.

Prototype 600Wh/kg solid-state battery for the Liefeng model, expected in 2026. If it has "electrolytes" ........ what type of solid state is that?

https://carnewschina.com/2026/01/19/cherys-liefeng-shooting-brake-will-be-equipped-with-solid-state-battery-in-2026-1500-km-range-in-30%e2%84%83-environment

[tszaboo]

Why does the PSU show 80A SINKING current?
It's an SM15K series 500V PSU

I have never played with a power supply like this because I am Old School.  In looking at the manual it looks like they set it to 80A max when sinking current.  But of course it's supposedly charging a battery cell and it would never need to sink current.  I was a little shocked to read that when it sinks current it pumps the power back into the AC mains.  It makes sense of course but my "tech clock" stopped a long time ago.

I just noticed that the power supply is in constant-voltage mode.  And we are supposed to believe that over several minutes the master-slave-slave triple power supply configuration responded to the Donut Lab battery cell "welcoming" a continuous 270 amps being pumped into it.  Almost like the battery cell was a near short-circuit.

Also, we are supposed to believe that the charging efficiency was near-100% because they were pumping 1.4 kW into that little battery cell about the size of a slice of bread.  In my mind it should have become burnt toast in about seven seconds.

It doesn't make any sense as far as I am concerned.  I think it's just a basic video editing job we are looking at.  If you are a good video editor you can make it all look seamless and perfect quite easily.

Nah, 270A charge is believable. Here is a datasheet for some high end Lithium cells from ~20 years ago. Datasheet from 2005:
https://www.shoptronica.com/ficheros/VL41M.pdf
As you see these will easily do 150A for a 40Ah cell, or ~4C meaning. These are 10C, not impossible. I've measured anywhere around 1mOhm ESR for larger regular lithium cells.
Or 200A short circuit currents out of 18650 sized cells.

I have another issue with the video, and that's the battery itself. On the video of the charge, around 4 minute mark there is clearly some changing in the reflections of the light on the battery. It changes it's shape. Which is somewhat normal for a Lipo battery, but I don't think a solid state battery is supposed to do that. Not if you want what... 100000 cycles out of it? Besides the 100K claim is very difficult to even test. 100K to what? 30% loss? Just charging and discharging a battery with 10C, the test would last longer than 2 years, very impractical. And I don't get why they would lie about this completely unnecessary parameter.

[Randy222]

Since supercapacitors are right now in the 400-500 Wh/kg area, Donut has a supercap. Nothing of "breakthrough" worthiness.

Maybe they call it "solid-state" because what they have does not meet the well-known definition of battery.

[EEVblog]

Maybe they call it "solid-state" because what they have does not meet the well-known definition of battery.

There are only two ways to store energy in this case, either electrostatic (SuperCap), or in electrochemical form (battery). It's either one or the other.

[Bud]

. Imagine spending years of time and effort on R&D for a technology and you get to the point of selling a viable product. Now we need investors and contracts and employees and facilities and the list goes on.

Yes. And the very first viable customer you grant that breakthrough technology to use is not an automotive or aviation giant but some stupid motorcycle company. Makes total sense.

[Bud]

Judging on the "charging demo" clip , their technology is a Resistor. This is the only technology the "demonstrated"  charging profile fits (no change in voltage and no change in current over the charging cycle).

[Analog Kid]

A dictator(s) that the people of that country have hated for 27yrs, done.

Bullshit.
That's the "narrative" that the mainstream media and the hegemonic US state want everyone to believe.
"Chavismo" is still very much alive and very popular in Venezuela.
Among everyone except the "oligarchs" (the usual 1%ers).

[Marco]

There are only two ways to store energy in this case, either electrostatic (SuperCap), or in electrochemical form (battery). It's either one or the other.

As I said before, you can do both. Electrostatic at the cathode and chemical at the anode.

There's actually quite a lot of publicly funded research in the EU (and Britain) into sodium ion capacitors and hybrids. Nordic Nano not part of it, but they likely used that as inspiration for their pitch.