Barely a month and a half ago, Verge Motorcycles presented its new solid state batteries, ensuring you can travel up to 290 km with a recharge of just 10 minutes. An advertisement that its most direct competition does not seem to have liked too much, and that automatically translated into direct criticism of the brand.
It has even been said that this new technology developed by Donut Lab, a subsidiary brand of Verge, was incomplete and was therefore a scam in the eyes of some experts in the field. The Finnish company, far from being intimidated, has turned to an independent research center, VTT Technical, to demonstrate the efficiency of its solid state batteriesthanks to a thorough evaluation and testing study.
Solid-state batteries could change everything
It is not the first time that we have heard that this or that battery in the development process will be able to offer EV users who equip them with high autonomy as well as the possibility of recharging in a short period of time. A good example of this is LMR battery cell technology, the result of collaboration between General Motors and LG Energy Solution.
This promises 33% higher energy density compared to the best-performing lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-based cells, at a comparable cost. However, unlike Donut Lab’s new solid-state batteries, this technology would not be available for at least three years. That is why it is at least curious that Verge already announces an autonomy of up to 600 kilometers and the possibility of recharging to 50% in just 10 minutes.
For this same reason, the brand wants to demonstrate through the aforementioned independent study that they are right, clearing up any type of doubt about their solid state batteries to your potential clients. After the controversy Marko Lehtimäkiexecutive director of Donut Lab, has commented in one of the videos published on the brand’s official YouTube channel, directly related to this study:
“The Donut battery has generated a lot of interest from both the media and industry experts since its launch. Such a remarkable innovation has, not surprisingly, also raised a lot of speculation and doubts: how is it possible?” He concludes by stating: “Yes, it is possible, and we want to clarify the technical specifications of the battery through more detailed evaluations.”
The test carried out by VTT Technical evaluates its charging performance in demanding conditions without active cooling. The cell was tested at charge rates of 5°C and 11°C, confirming previously stated fast charging targets, including a 0-80% charge in just 4.5 minutes at 11°C. Thus, the first results demonstrate an exceptional load capacity together with stable thermal behavior.
This confirms the high performance of Donut Lab’s new solid-state batteries. In addition, the brand has already announced that it will continue publishing the videos of the conclusions drawn after the tests carried out by VTT Technical, making it clear that they are not bluffing and that they could very likely change everything within the two-wheeled electric segment.
