- Electric motorbike manufacturer, Verge Motorcycles, is set to start shipping bikes to customers packing the latest solid-state battery packs from the first quarter of this year, marking an industry first.
- These solid-state batteries, which offer higher energy density, longer range, and improved reliability have been developed by Donut Lab.
- The achievement was announced at this year’s CES convention in Las Vegas.
The first solid-state battery electric motorbike will offer a 370 mile range
Donut Lab is a technology subsidiary of Verge Motorcycles, and with its own solid-state ‘Donut Batteries’ now ready for OEMs to integrate into their electric vehicles now, a solid-state revolution is just around the corner. More established OEMs have also been pushing forward their own solid-state plans, with car manufacturers such as Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz also testing out the technology in pilot vehicles ahead of potential consumer launches.
From the first quarter of this year, Donut Lab’s solid-state batteries will find themselves inside of Verge Motorcycle’s fully-electric lineup, including the Verge TS Pro and Ultra. Two solid-state battery capacity options will be on offer, a 20.2kWh and 33.3kWh unit, with the latter allowing these two bikes to travel up to 370 miles on a single charge. With conventional lithium-ion batteries, battery packs of this energy capacity would have previously been unfeasible due to the size constraints of motorbikes, but the much higher energy density of solid-state batteries has overcome this. Looking further ahead, this technology will also provide range benefits for smaller four-wheeled EVs such as quadricycles or city cars.
Donut Lab CEO, Marko Lehtimäki, commented:
“While the advantages are obvious, the future of solid state batteries has been a moving target constantly delayed when companies working in electrification are asked about when they will become a reality. At Donut Lab, our answer on solid state batteries being ready for use in OEM production vehicles is now, today, not later. Donut Lab has engineered a new high performance solid state Donut Battery that can be scaled to major production volumes and seen now in real world use in the Verge Motorcycles bikes out on the road in Q1.”
