Donut Lab Says Latest Test Proves Its Solid-state Battery Isn’t A Supercapacitor

When Donut Lab first announced its solid-state artillery earlier this year, there was immoderate speculation astir whether nan Finnish startup had really produced a supercapacitor, which is simply a overmuch shorter-term shape of electrical storage. Supercapacitors tin complaint and discharge quickly, akin to Donut Lab’s claimed solid-state battery. But supercapacitors are wholly different from batteries successful position of power retention capacity and semipermanent use. Was Donut Lab’s artillery really conscionable a supercapacitor successful disguise?

The startup says no, and it has the independent test results to beryllium it. The test, which was yet again conducted by state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, “evaluates its complaint retention complete an extended idle period.” This is nan 3rd trial successful a series of independent examinations ordered by Donut Lab to measure its claims astir its caller battery.

“Many person said that nan specifications of Donut artillery tin only beryllium achieved pinch supercapacitor,” nan company’s CEO Marko Lehtimäki said successful a video. “Well, coming we are proving that is not nan case.”

Basically, VTT hooked up Donut Lab’s to a artillery tester and near it idle for 10 days, while measuring nan voltage each 10 seconds. According to nan results, nan compartment demonstrated precocious stability, retaining 97.7 percent of its power during nan 10-day idle period.

There was immoderate insignificant change detected, pinch VTT reporting a driblet successful voltage from an first 3861 mili-volts to 3722mV (a alteration of -128mV) wrong nan first hr owed to chemic stabilization. But otherwise, nan compartment kept nan mostly of its energy, which Donut Lab says disproves nan theories that its artillery is really a supercapacitor.

Over a akin idle period, supercapacitors will suffer a important information of their stored power done self-discharge. That’s because supercapacitors are not designed for semipermanent power retention and, dissimilar batteries, will spot their voltage driblet substantially wrong a fewer days aliases weeks. The trial confirms “normal battery-type complaint retention – not nan accelerated linear discharge characteristic of supercapacitors,” nan laboratory states.

Donut Lab says its important to disprove these claims to clear nan aerial astir its solid-state battery. And nan logic for that is because astir of what nan startup is claiming sounds truthful unbelievable to galore artillery experts. Solid-state batteries are often held up arsenic nan “holy grail” of artillery technology, allowing electrical vehicles to recreation farther and complaint faster without immoderate of nan issues that existent EV batteries look astir fires and thermal runaways.

Donut Lab has claimed that its artillery delivers 400 watt-hours per kilogram. By comparison, astir lithium-ion batteries coming scope from 200 to 300 Wh-per-kg. The institution besides says nan artillery tin complaint successful nether 10 minutes and past 100,000 cycles. Current lithium-ion batteries typically past betwixt 1,500 and 3,000 cycles.

There’s still a batch we don’t cognize astir Donut Lab’s battery. There hasn’t been an independent trial to corroborate nan chemistry of nan pack. And we still haven’t seen immoderate mentation for really nan startup is handling nan “dendrite issue,” successful which microscopic stalagmites increasing from anode to cathode crossed nan solid-state electrolyte tin origin electrical shorts. Perhaps Donut Labs will reside that successful consequent independent trial results, which it is promising arsenic portion of its “I Donut Believe” series.