Verge Motorcycles’ solid-state battery technology faces skepticism
What was said to be a breakthrough milestone for the electric motorcycle segment is now facing scrutiny after a criminal complaint filed by a whistleblower suggests the solid-state battery developed by Verge Motorcycles’ subsidiary Donut Lab is not what it claims to be.
An article published by Science.org reported that a co-founder of Nordic Nano Group — an R&D company working with Donut Lab — told a Finnish newspaper that the technological claims made for its solid-state battery are not true.
Both Donut Lab and Verge claim the new battery technology delivers significantly faster charging and extended range compared to conventional lithium-ion systems. The solid-state batteries were said to enable up to 370 miles of range and add 186 miles in 5 to 10 minutes of charging. Verge also claimed the battery would withstand 100,000 charging cycles — 20 times more than current lithium-ion batteries.
Following the January announcement, Donut Lab received pushback from leading battery manufacturers, including SVOLT out of China, with its CEO calling the technology a “scam.”
In response, Donut Lab launched a website, IDonutBelieve.com, which released technology reports from a Finnish state-owned research company that verifies Donut’s initial claims.
But Lauri Peltola, chief commercial officer of Nordic Nano double-downed, telling the Finnish paper that Donut indeed exaggerated those claims and misrepresented its ability to go into mass production, Science reported.
“I still firmly stand behind everything I said,” he says. “The information that I have says that the battery is not in the state that (Donut CEO) Marko Lehtimäki announced in January,” he says.
Meanwhile, other mainstream solid-state battery producers are still struggling to reach mass production. Semi-solid-state batteries have been developed by other companies, but offer relatively modest benefits over conventional batteries, Science reports.
