Donut Lab and Verge Motorcycles have released the results of a fast-charging evaluation that demonstrates the performance of Donut Lab’s solid-state battery technology at the pack level. Conducted as part of a research project, the test assessed how multiple cells interact within an air-cooled 18 kWh battery pack designed for the Verge TS Pro electric motorcycle. This marks the first public demonstration of the battery’s capabilities in a production vehicle.
According to Ville Piippo, CTO of Donut Lab, the high energy density of the solid-state cells supports versatile pack architectures and exceptional performance in space-constrained applications such as motorcycles. Piippo notes that manufacturers can choose packs with varying capacities in the same physical dimensions, with even the most compact options delivering significant energy storage.
In the charging trial, the motorcycle’s battery pack was brought from 10 percent to 50 percent charge in five minutes by maintaining a peak power input of more than 100 kW (approximately a 5C rate) using a public fast charger at an initial pack temperature of about 20 °C. The test achieved a 10 – 70 percent state of charge in just over nine minutes and reached 80 percent in 12 minutes, outperforming Verge’s previous battery by a factor of three. Verge Motorcycles anticipates further improvements after additional pack-level optimizations.
Tuomo Lehtimäki, CEO of Verge Motorcycles, emphasizes that integrating Donut Lab’s ultra-fast charging cells into the air-cooled TS Pro aligns with the company’s focus on delivering a superior user experience. The standard 18 kWh pack used in the test will be complemented by an extended-range version offering approximately 67 percent more energy capacity.
Source: Donut Lab announcement
