Donut Lab Claimed A Breakthrough Battery. Experts Claim Foul

At CES this January, battery startup Donut Lab made some pretty massive claims about a new battery pack it said was the world's first commercial solid-state pack. It promised to bring that pack — with some pretty large claims on battery performance, lifespan, and charging capabilities — to the refreshed Verge TS Pro motorcycle, a bike designed and built by its sister company, Verge Motorcycles. Almost immediately, the company faced criticism and calls to back up its claims with independent lab testing. Through its "I Donut Believe" campaign, it claimed to offer exactly that — but steered clear of the two areas its critics most wanted to hear about: energy density and cycle life. Now, hot on the heels of legal action from a former employee of one of its partner firms, new investigative reporting from YouTuber and engineer Dr. Ryan Hughes of ‪@ZirothTech‬ appears to debunk Donut Lab's claims entirely. What was sold as a revolutionary solid-state pack may be nothing more than a common-or-garden lithium-ion cell. Here's what we know, what's likely to happen next, and why Donut Lab may have a lot of explaining to do --- 00:00 - Introduction 02:07 - The Institution That Is CES 03:08 - Donut Lab and Its Claims 04:00 - Initial Optimism 04:19 - Questions Mount 04:59 - Skepticism Rises 05:46 - The History of Verge Motorcycles 07:42 - Enter Donut Lab 08:24 - CES 2026 — And Donut's Claims 08:59 - The "I Donut Believe" Campaign 15:41 - A Reminder To Support This Channel 16:52 - The Allegations and the Evidence 19:47 - The Voltage Curves Don't Lie 20:47 - The Energy Density Doesn't Add Up 21:55 - Alleged Financial Improprieties 24:43 - What's Next? 27:06 - Thanks and Goodbye --- Sources and Further Reading: 🎥 Ziroth — "Exposing The Solid State Donut Battery. It's Over."    • Exposing The Solid State Donut Battery. It...   📄 Donut Lab — Official Website https://www.donutlab.com 📄 VTT — "I Donut Believe" Test Series https://www.vttresearch.com 📄 Helsingin Sanomat — Criminal Complaint Reporting https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-200001194... 📄 Donut Lab & Nordic Nano — Joint Public Statement https://www.donutlab.com/donut-labin-... --- 👥 Today’s Sponsors 🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org ⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-10129094... — ✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-res... ❤️ Support the Show 📰 https://www.transportevolved.com 🔥   / transportevolved   ☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved 📺    / transportevolved   👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/Tran... 🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm ₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH 💬 Join the Conversation 🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com... 💬   / discord   💬 https://fluxer.gg/mcj8aehg 🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevo... 🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel -    / transportevolvedtake2   --- 🎙️ Credits: Host, Script, Editor: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield Color: Vi Horton Art & Animation : Erin Carlie Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield Music: via Artlist.io