Donut Lab really wants us to believe its ‘miracle solid-state battery’ is real

A Finnish company called Donut Lab has been claiming it built a "solid-state" battery ready for use in vehicles, a claim that would matter for anyone hoping this kind of technology might eventually show up in home batteries or EVs. To back up that claim, the company sent battery samples to a lab called Intertek, which tested for lithium and sodium content and found almost none of either. Donut Lab says this proves its battery isn't ordinary lithium-ion or sodium-based technology.

But the test has real gaps. Intertek only checked for two elements, using a sample that Donut Lab had already taken apart and handed over itself, rather than an intact cell the lab tested independently. The report never confirms this sample matches the cell that an earlier lab, VTT, tested and found delivered a very high energy density (409 watt-hours per kilogram) — a result typical of lithium-ion batteries, not the near-zero-lithium chemistry this new test suggests. Donut Lab still hasn't said what its battery is actually made of.

For homeowners, none of this points to anything you can buy or plan around yet. Despite claims made back in January about production-ready batteries in vehicles, there's still no finished product on the road nine months later. This is a story about an unproven claim getting more scrutiny, not a new battery technology reaching the market.