As of February 2026, the “Donut Lab” solid-state battery has been widely accused by industry experts and battery manufacturers of being a scam or a “hoax” due to improbable performance claims and a lack of transparent, independent verification.
The Finnish company, linked to Verge Motorcycles, claimed at CES 2026 to have developed a “miracle” solid-state battery, but experts have highlighted numerous red flags surrounding the announcement.
Key Evidence and Red Flags
Unrealistic Performance Metrics: Donut Lab claims its batteries feature 400 Wh/kg energy density, 5-minute charge times (0-80% in 4.5 minutes), and a lifespan of 100,000 cycles. These figures far exceed current technology and are considered impossible to achieve simultaneously.
“Empty Case” at CES: Reports indicate that during the reveal, the company did not showcase a working prototype but rather empty battery cases.
Contradictory Data: Yang Hongxin, chairman of Chinese battery maker Svolt, labeled the claims a “scam,” stating that the parameters are contradictory and that such a battery does not exist in the world.
Lack of Peer Review: There have been no published scientific papers or patent disclosures related to their claimed battery chemistry.
Suspicious Test Results: Initial third-party test results (VTT) showed that while the cell could fast-charge, it behaved more like a high-performance lithium-ion cell or a supercapacitor under extreme stress, rather than a breakthrough solid-state battery.
Questionable Background: The company has very little history (founded ~2024) and minimal technical staff compared to industry giants, prompting comparisons to the Theranos fraud case.
The curve should look like a lithium chemistry because it is.
The take away should be they did it without active liquid cooling or having to hold the cell in a pressure binding to keep it from swelling and venting gases. 11C is no joke that’s 5 min full charges again you only go to 80% in lithium chemistry because of the way the ions stack up in the anode as it gets close to full they jam in and things start to shift at the atomic level repeatedly doing this causes degradation of the anode. This is gonna be true of most lithium anodes be them metal, carbon,graphite,silicon, silicon carbide, it’s a function of the lithium ion itself.
11C while not the 66C aluminum graphene cells have demonstrated is still plenty good for consumer devices. That’s a smartphone off a USB 3 charger from zero to full(80%) in 5 min. That alone makes for a huge global market. The fact that it’s 400wh/kg vs 160 or 220 is icing on the cake. That nearly doubles you smartphones capacity.
It was not all that long ago that lithium was 100wh/kg and those cells launched the modern smartphone era. Each generation of lithium has been better than the last, this is the next logical step. Take out the flammable liquid electrolyte and put in nanoglass or ceramic. The anode and cathode chemistry is well known already.
The secret sauce is how to get lithium ions through said nanoglass or ceramic from the anode to the cathode.