A few hours back, Donut Lab and Verge Motorcycles posted announcements that will redefine how we look at performance electric motorcycles and battery technology in the future.
Donut Lab is the Helsinki-based technology innovator that has created the Donut Motor, essentially an in-wheel motor which leaves the hub of the wheel empty. The motors are highly power-dense and deliver outstanding torque while liberating packaging space for the other motorcycle components, the motor being moved to inside the wheel. Donut Lab is run by serial entrepreneur Marko Lehtimaki, while his brother Tuomo Lehtimaki is in charge of Verge Motorcycles.
A few months back, InsightEV had interviewed Marko Lehtimaki when Donut Lab had started offering its technology to other companies.
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While the Donut Motor started as a 17″ motor for motorcycles, Donut now offers it in multiple sizes. Since then, the company says that they have been working with more than 100 OEMs to integrate various sizes of Donut Motors in their upcoming vehicle programs.
Solid State Battery
Donut Lab has now announced that it is releasing a ready-for-production solid-state battery. This is important because most global solid state programs are slated for mass production in the 2028-30 timeframe. Pilot production is going on at various places, but Donut Lab and Verge Motorcycles have become the first ones to offer it in production vehicles.
The first under-production vehicle to carry the solid-state battery would be the Verge TS Pro motorcycle. Already, the Verge motorcycle has been updated to reflect the change. The CEO of Verge Motorcycles, Spencer Cutlan, announced that all waitlisted orders for the TS Pro would be automatically upgraded to a solid-state battery.
What does solid state bring?
As we expect with solid-state tech, the Donut SSB ticks all the desired boxes. It is lighter, so the Verge TS Pro reduces the weight from 245 kg to 230 kg. Donut says that its solid-state battery is cheaper than available Li-ion options.
Importantly, solid-state batteries have higher energy density – the one on the TS Pro has 400Wh/kg. They charge faster – Donut says its battery can charge to 100% within five minutes, though the one on the TS Pro will still take 10% (due to charger limitations?). Spencer joked that they deliberately reduced the charging speed so that the rider can still enjoy his Latte while the motorcycle is getting charged.
Solid-state batteries have an immense life. The Donut one has been engineered for 100,000 cycles. That’s about 50 times of NMC and 16-20 times of commercially available LFP batteries.
Add to that, they are safer, and (Marko stressed that) are constructed using materials that are not dependent on geopolitically sensitive supply chains.
Spencer and Verge did clarify, they did clarify that the motorcycles are ready for shipping right now. So it’s not an experiment. It is not a pilot production. It is an underproduction motorcycle that is ready for delivery to customers. Further, taking advantage of the packaging space, they have also created a long-range version of the TS Pro, which promises nearly 550 km range and the same charging speed.
But Are the Claims True?
With solid-state tech at most carmakers still a few years away from regular production, questions are already being asked about Donut Lab’s claims. Kieran O’Regan, cofounder of About: Energy, a battery modelling and data company, cast skepticism on the claims in a LinkedIn post.
Impact
If the claims are true, this pushes the envelope for performance motorcycles significantly higher. In the past, we have stated that startups should wait for SSB technology to mature before working on any performance motorcycle program. This is that moment.
Succinctly, everyone left at Damon, anyone planning to save Energica, everyone at Livewire, Richard Hatfield, everyone at Ultraviolette, or Honda, or Yamaha, or anyone else nursing dreams of making an electric superbike should drop their spanners and look carefully at what Donut Lab is offering.
Donut Lab has been going from strength to strength with its commercialisable tech. The donut motor is being tested for vehicle programs by a number of OEMs, mostly in the UK and Europe. UK-based Longbow Motors is using the 17″ version of the motor to create an ultra-lightweight sports car which would be powered by four of these motors.
Then there is CovaPower, a JV between logistics major Ahola group and Donut Lab, which is using the Donut motors to electrify its trailers.
There is also WattEV, which will use Donut Motors to electrify its skateboard platform.
There is already Hush Cycles, which essentially uses the Verge platform to create its version of an electric superbike.
With Donut Motor readily making its tech available to anyone and promising prices lower than Li-ion, this may be a game-changer for any small-scale startup looking to develop a performance motorcycle platform.