- Donut Lab recently announced the first production solid-state battery for motorcycles.
- This week, it revealed test results showing the battery’s charging power.
- However, doubts remain about its longevity and practicality.
Donut Lab sent shockwaves through certain sectors of the Internet earlier this year when it unveiled its first production solid-state battery at CES, apparently beating out all the major battery makers in the process. And now it has published battery test results to help convince skeptics.
The innovative battery pack, which will power upcoming versions of the Verge TS Pro electric motorcycle, is claimed to boast 400Wh/kg of energy density, far exceeding anything current-generation lithium-ion batteries can offer.
Donut Lab also claimed that its battery technology is designed to last up to 100,000 charge cycles, again far surpassing existing technologies. It can also operate in extreme conditions and charge at high speeds without the need for active cooling.
This is what has made it so attractive for Verge motorcycles and other compact applications, as the comparatively lightweight battery packs provide superior range and charging performance, without the need for bulky cooling extras that could add a serious weight disadvantage to something as small as a motorcycle.
But some industry experts responded to those claims from Donut Lab, with Svolt Energy president Yang Hongxin stating that “all the parameters are contradictory” and that any technician with basic knowledge would recognize this,” according to Electrek.
In an attempt to prove its point, Donut Lab has published the results of battery tests conducted by the internationally recognized VTT Technology Research Center, which analyzed the charging speeds of the company’s first mass-produced solid-state battery.
While most of today’s actively cooled lithium-ion battery packs typically charge between 1°C and 3°C, or where a charger supplies one to three times the battery’s capacity in current, Donut Lab’s solid-state offering achieved 5°C during testing with only passive aluminum cooling plates (often known as heatsinks) used to dissipate heat.
At 5°C, the battery cell reached an 80% state of charge in approximately 9.5 minutes. The research center then increased the charging speed to 11C, where the cell was charged from 0 to 80% in 4.5 minutes.
During the 5°C tests, the cell temperature only increased from 27°C to 61.5°C, which is considered the closest to minimal thermal management.
Too good to be true?
It’s worth noting that one of the 11°C tests was interrupted after the cell surface temperature reached the research center’s 90°C safety limit, forcing the team to allow the cell to cool and reapply the heat sink configuration.
It wasn’t mentioned in the research notes, but this could be a potential issue for those charging in much warmer climates, where cell temperatures could spike during ultra-fast charging sessions and greater thermal management may be necessary.
Despite this, Donut Lab is set to publish a series of blog posts and videos, under the catchy general title of “I Donut Believe,” that aim to back up its bold CES claims.
Since this first test only seemed to cement the fact that its cells can charge quickly, Donut Lab needs to prove to the world that it can do so continuously for the claimed 100,000 charge cycles, as well as demonstrate the pack’s robustness in extreme climates and weather conditions.
There is also no information on the cost or whether this solid-state technology can be scaled to a point where it can be applied to larger electric vehicles in a way that the auto industry considers profitable.
All that’s left to do now is keep an eye on Donut Lab’s website for more test results, of which the next installment will be available in less than a week. Who could have predicted that the progression of solid-state battery technology could become a Netflix-style series?
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