- The world's first all-solid-state battery on a production motorcycle will be available in the U.S. this year, Verge Motorcycles claims.
- Developed by Finland-based Donut Lab, the battery gets 400 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density.
- Donut says it can charge in just five minutes and is not prone to fires.
The first vehicle in the U.S. that you can actually buy with an all-solid-state battery isn’t any long-promised electric vehicle from a legacy automaker. Apparently, it’s a high-end electric motorcycle from Europe.
Estonia-based Verge Motorcycles said on Friday that its TS Pro electric superbike is the first in the world to enter production with all-solid-state batteries. And no, it's not coming by the end of the decade or some far-flung future timeline. Customer deliveries in the U.S. will start in the first quarter of this year.
Gallery: Verge Motorcycles TS Pro
The bike itself looks like it came straight out of the sci-fi movie "Tron." Its most striking feature is a hubless rear wheel, with the motor integrated directly into the rim, leaving a gaping hole where you’d normally expect spokes and brakes.
Now Donut Lab, the Finnish startup that pioneered that rear hubless motor design years ago, claims it has pulled off something far more ambitious: bringing an all-solid-state battery into real-world production.
Automakers and battery companies have been working to bring this holy-grail battery tech to life for years. Now Donut Lab claims it has beaten Toyota, QuantumScape and others to the punch by developing the first production all-solid-state battery that's ready for manufacturer use.
The batteries have 400 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, enough to deliver up to 370 miles (600 kilometers) of range on the Verge superbike. That’s substantially more than the 200-300 Wh/kg of energy density found on typical lithium-ion batteries today.
The current version of the TS Pro is already on sale with lithium-ion batteries. The new versions will include solid-state packs, reducing weight and improving charging performance.
“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,” Donut Lab CEO Marko Lehtimäki said in a press release. “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."
Traditional lithium-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte to facilitate ion movement during charge and discharge cycles. Solid-state batteries replace the liquid electrolyte with a solid material made of polymers, sulfides or oxides. Automakers and battery experts say this material can address range and charging anxiety while also substantially improving performance in extreme weather, safety and lifespan.
Two versions of the TS Pro will be available at the start, one with a Standard Battery and another with a Large Battery. The Standard Battery model gets 20.2 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity, delivering about 217 miles of manufacturer-estimated range. The Large Battery costs about $5,000 more and delivers 370 miles of range. They both seem extremely powerful, with 737 pound-feet of torque and a 0-60 miles per hour time of just 3.5 seconds.
However, the key traits of these batteries extended beyond the range they deliver. Donut claims the battery can be fully charged in just five minutes, roughly matching the time it takes to refuel a gasoline-powered vehicle. Verge Motorcycles’ claim differs slightly, stating that the TS Pro can fast-charge at 200 kW and fully charge in under 10 minutes. The bike also ships with a built-in Tesla-style NACS charging port.
Moreover, Donut claims its battery is claimed can retain its capacity for up to 100,000 cycles, which far exceeds current cycle limits for lithium-ion batteries. And because the cells don’t use a flammable liquid electrolyte, the company says they’re not susceptible to thermal runaway or metallic dendrites, the tiny internal spikes that can damage cells and trigger failures. In other words, the usual root causes of battery fires are designed out of the system, at least in theory.
However, all this range, power, safety, and charging performance doesn’t come cheap. The base TS Pro begins at $29,900 in the U.S., whereas the Large Battery trim costs $34,900, excluding destination and other fees.
It’s potentially a huge step forward for solid-state battery tech, even though for now it’s only available on two wheels, wrapped in carbon fiber and priced accordingly.
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