--- title: The Battery Industry Called Donut Lab a Fraud Then Announced Its Own Solid-State Plans description: Donut Lab's solid-state battery claims remain unverified weeks after CES. But BYD, CATL, Samsung and Toyota then announced their own 2027 timelines. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-02-15T16:43:29.000Z updated: 2026-03-31T11:25:17.518Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-battery-industry-called-donut-lab-a-fraud-then-announced-its-own-solid-state-plans image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/donut-lab-solid-state-battery-industry.webp categories: Science & Tech content_type: Analysis region: Finland publication: Sovereign Magazine --- Finnish startup Donut Lab claimed [production-ready solid-state batteries](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/solid-state-batteries-how-donut-lab-called-the-industry-s-bluff-and-won) at CES 2026 in January. Six weeks later, no independent lab has verified the technology, no patents have been published and Verge Motorcycles deliveries using the cells have slipped from Q1 to at least April. The scepticism has been loud. Svolt Energy chairman Yang Hongxin called Donut Lab’s claims [‘a scam’ and ‘fraud’](https://cnevpost.com/2026/01/20/svolts-comment-on-finnish-donut-lab-solid-state-battery/) in January, stating that ‘no such battery exists in the world’. Hackaday published a [technical teardown](https://hackaday.com/2026/02/08/investigating-the-science-claims-behind-the-donut-solid-state-battery/)) on 8 February concluding that the combined specifications (400 Wh/kg, five-minute charging, 100,000 cycles) contradict known battery chemistry. InsideEVs and Electronic Design ran similar analyses. Donut Lab declined to answer technical questions from any of them. Instead of submitting cells for independent testing, the company announced a video demonstration series beginning 20 February. [No laboratory data has been released](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/donut-lab-s-solid-state-battery-passes-its-first-independent-test). ## The incumbents’ own timelines The problem for the industry’s ‘impossible’ line is what happened next. On 9 February [BYD confirmed](https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/byd-hits-solid-state-ev-battery-milestone-due-out-as-soon-as-2027)[ ](https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/byd-hits-solid-state-ev-battery-milestone-due-out-as-soon-as-2027)[a 2027 timeline](https://electrek.co/2026/02/09/byd-hits-solid-state-ev-battery-milestone-due-out-as-soon-as-2027) for a small demonstration fleet of solid-state vehicles targeting 400 Wh/kg and 1,000-kilometre range. CATL is planning small-scale [solid-state production](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/battery-wars-battle-for-dominance-in-sustainable-energy-storage-heats-up) in 2027 with mass production by 2030. Samsung SDI has the same [2027 mass production target ](https://www.electrive.com/2024/03/05/samsung-sdi-to-start-mass-production-of-solid-state-batteries-in-2027/)and is already running evaluation vehicles with BMW. Toyota received Japanese government production approval in October 2025 and is targeting 2027-2028 commercialisation at 450-500 Wh/kg. QuantumScape inaugurated its Eagle Line pilot facility in San Jose on 4 February. Panasonic, LG Energy Solution, Nissan and Hyundai have all published timelines between 2027 and 2030. The specifications these companies are targeting (400+ Wh/kg energy density, sub-10-minute charging, 1,000+ km range) overlap substantially with the numbers Donut Lab announced at CES. South Korean researchers have separately made [advances in solid electrolyte design](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/south-korea-s-structural-battery-design-could-redefine-cost-and-performance) targeting 2027-2030 adoption. ## Both things can be true Donut Lab’s claims remain unverified. The company has no published patents, no third-party test results and a delivery timeline that is already slipping. Those are legitimate red flags. But the industry response went beyond scepticism. Svolt did not say Donut Lab’s claims were *unproven*. It said such a battery *‘does not exist in the world’*. Weeks later, BYD, Samsung and Toyota confirmed they are building batteries with near-identical targets for production within two years. Either the technology is physically impossible or the incumbents are developing it themselves. It cannot be both. The more straightforward reading is that solid-state batteries are coming and the only open question is whether a 30-person startup in Helsinki got there before the companies that have spent billions on the same goal. ## Further Context **Q: How soon will solid-state batteries be in cars?** Toyota and BYD are both targeting 2027 for limited production vehicles with solid-state cells. Samsung SDI has the same timeline and is already supplying evaluation units to BMW. Nissan is building a pilot production line in Yokohama for a 2028 commercial launch. Mass-market availability across multiple manufacturers is generally forecast for 2030, though every major solid-state timeline to date has slipped at least once. **Q: What is the EU battery regulation 2027?** From 18 February 2027 all industrial batteries above 2 kWh, light means of transport batteries and EV batteries sold in the EU must carry a Battery Passport. The passport is a digital record accessible via QR code containing data on composition, carbon footprint, raw material sourcing and recyclability. The regulation applies to any battery placed on the EU market regardless of where it was manufactured, meaning solid-state cells from Asian producers will need to comply before European sales begin. **Q: How big is the solid-state battery market?** The global solid-state battery market was valued at approximately $500 million in 2020. Allied Market Research projects it will reach $3.4 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 18%. KBV Research estimates $294 million by 2027 at 35% CAGR, reflecting different assumptions about how quickly production scales. The wide range between forecasts reflects genuine uncertainty about whether 2027 production targets will hold.