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Watch On The video begins with Donut Lab CEO Marko Lehtimäki announcing at CES 2026 that his solid-state battery tech is “going to transform the industry.” Donut Lab’s valuation subsequently rocketed to $1.25B off the back of claims its 400 Wh/kg, 100,000-cycle, 5-minute-charging solid-state battery was shipping "in production vehicles."
This startup, coming out of nowhere, boasting of an achievement that the likes of Toyota and Samsung are still working towards, made some suspicious and others eager to invest. But even before any independent technical analysis of a Donut Lab Solid State battery pack could be completed, cracks started to appear in its claims. For example, a whistleblower from a partner company, the ex-COO of Nordic Nano Group, came forward to allege that the CES 2026 outlined battery specs weren’t accurate.
Even before any battery characteristic tests or chemical analyses were done, much of the backstory of the ‘miracle’ solid-state battery was debunked. Adding to the whistleblower’s revelation, a Fraunhofer Research Institute scientist who talked to Donut Lab technology provider CT Coatings was agog that “these people have no idea how a battery actually works.” Then there was the revelation that a motorcycle firm partnership was merely at the development test phase. The Donut Labs batteries were not in the “first production motorcycle,” as claimed at CES and on the firm’s website.
Moving on to the scientific analysis of the Donut Lab Solid State battery, things get even worse for the Finnish startup. Scientists and experts from the aforementioned Fraunhofer, plus a number of universities, “confirmed the tested cell is lithium-ion,” reports Electrek.
Australian researchers develop quantum battery proof-of-concept which uses lasers to charge near-instantly
Prototype of the ‘world’s first fluid circuit board’ can be physically rewired in less than a minute, startup claims
SoftBank to manufacture its own batteries to power AI data centers
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/startups-miracle-solid-state-battery-actually-uses-lithium-ion-chemistry-according-to-third-party-tests-donut-lab-raised-usd25m-and-is-valued-at-usd1-25b-on-what-now-appear-to-be-debunked-claims#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.