Image Credit: Donut Lab.
For a fair portion of my life, I've been told that miracles are just myths for people who've had one too many whiskies. Usually, when a company claims they've "revolutionized" the battery tech, it means they've managed to stop a bunch of double As from leaking for an extra ten minutes. But then there's Donut Lab. For the last couple of months, the internet's self-appointed "experts" and big-name industry titans have been shouting from the rooftops that these Finns were nothing but high-tech fraudsters selling a bucket of lies. They were called snakes, charlatans, and everything in between.
The Finns clearly got tired of the noise and they launched a video series with the most brilliant, self-aware name I've ever heard: "I DONUT BELIEVE." Yup - literally an electric middle finger to every naysayer out there who claimed Donut's solid-state tech was fiction. And rather than talking about it, they dragged their hardware to the VTT Technical Research Centre for some official, cold-blooded testing. And if you're one of the people who called them liars, you might want to find a nice, soft place to sit down, because the results are something else entirely.
Image Credit: Donut Lab.
Let's get into the "science-y" bits before I lose my train of thought. The lab tests showed that this battery simply devours the charge. It handled 5C charging as if it was a casual Sunday stroll. But then they cranked the dial up to 11C. If you aren't a battery nerd, 11C is pure madness - it's trying to fill a thimble with a firehose without spilling a drop. Usually, that kind of power would turn a standard lithium-ion pack into a very expensive campfire, but the Donut Lab tech just sat there and took it like a champ.
But I have to put on my "skeptical journalist" hat for a wee second - mostly because I enjoy being a bit of a contrarian. Back in Las Vegas, the original claim was a 0 to 100 percent charge in just five minutes. That claim wobbled faster than I do when I'm trying to find my front door after a long Friday night. Even their own press releases are now shifting the goalposts to a 10 to 80 percent charge. But honestly? Who bloody cares? If someone offers you a car that gets 350 miles of range in ten minutes and you complain it isn't five, you're officially the most miserable person on the planet.
Image Credit: Donut Lab.
The real magic here (and the reason I'm grinning like I found the key to a secret whiskey cellar) is how this battery handles heat. Most batteries are like toddlers - they throw a tantrum and stop working when they get too warm. And they need over-engineered cooling systems with thick metal casings just to keep them in shape. But the Finnish wizards have built a battery that actually performs better when it gets hot. It doesn't need a heavy cage to keep it from exploding. It's lighter, simpler, and tougher than anything the "big guys" are producing right now.
If these lads can actually deliver a battery that provides 500 miles of range on a full charge and can be juiced up in ten minutes, then gasoline is officially a dead man walking. Think about it. A 10 to 80 percent charge gives you roughly 350 miles. That, quite conveniently, is exactly the capacity of my aging kidneys. By the time I've plugged the car in, sorted out my "personal plumbing," and purchased a half-decent donut and a cup of questionable coffee, the car is ready for another four hours of driving. It fits perfectly into the human rhythm of travel.
Image Credit: Donut Lab.
The skeptics are currently eating a massive, humble-flavored donut, and I am here for every bite of it. We've been told for a decade that solid-state batteries were twenty years away. It turns out they were just hiding in Finland, waiting for the right moment to make the rest of the world look a bit daft. If the next video in the series proves the capacity is as high as they say, the internal combustion engine belongs in a museum next to the steam tractor and the VHS player.
So… It's Donut Lab: 1, and the Naysayers: 0. All we need now is a decent DC charger every 300 miles. The future is looking a wee bit brighter than it did this morning.
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