World-first motorcycle EV battery promises 600km range and five-minute charging

A Finnish motorcycle company is preparing to flip the electric vehicle segment on its head with a world-first solid-state battery that can be charged in just five minutes.

Claimed to be the world’s first production-ready all-solid-state battery for EVs, the innovation is the work of Estonian tech firm Donut Lab and will debut in the two-wheel TS Pro model from Verge Motorcycles.

If the company’s claims are accurate, the Verge TS Pro will be capable of up to 600km on a single charge, with the battery able to fully recharge in less than 10 minutes.

Solid-state batteries also promise improved safety, better performance in extreme temperatures, higher energy density, and a longer overall lifespan.

Unveiled at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the technology has unsurprisingly caught the attention of the wider automotive industry as it looks to improve EV technology and increase consumer appeal.

The concept of solid-state batteries for electric vehicles has been explored for several years, but Verge and Donut Lab claim their product is production-ready, with the TS Pro set to hit the road in the coming months.

Chinese car manufacturers such as MG and Nio have recently experimented with semi-solid-state batteries, but the Verge TS Pro is claimed to be the first electric vehicle to use a fully solid-state battery.

Solid-state batteries differ from conventional EV batteries – which are predominantly lithium-ion – by replacing liquid electrolytes with a solid material such as ceramic, glass, or solid polymer. This allows for higher energy density (and therefore greater range), improved safety, faster charging, longer lifespan, and lower operating temperatures.

However, solid-state batteries are complex and expensive to produce, and questions remain around long-term durability and real-world effectiveness.

According to Donut Lab, its industry-first “Donut Battery” delivers an energy density of 400Wh/kg and is designed to withstand up to 100,000 charge cycles.

Donut Lab also claims the battery has been tested in extreme heat (above 80 degrees Celsius) and extreme cold (down to minus 30 degrees Celsius), with only a one per cent drop in capacity reported.

Additional benefits cited by Donut Lab include reliance on 100 per cent green and abundant materials, eliminating the need for “rare or geopolitically sensitive” resources. The company also says the battery “behaves like clay”, meaning it can be moulded into a wide variety of sizes, voltages, and geometries.

The Verge TS Pro – along with its higher-spec TS Ultra sibling – also features another Donut Lab innovation in the form of the Donut Motor. This hubless design integrates the motor directly into the rear wheel, eliminating the need for chains or belts and freeing up space for larger batteries.

Verge claims the TS Pro produces up to 1000Nm of torque (1200Nm for the TS Ultra), with a 0–100km/h sprint time of just 3.5 seconds.

If Verge and Donut Lab’s battery technology lives up to its promise, car manufacturers may soon find themselves locked in a race to follow suit.