World’s First Solid-State Battery Motorcycle Hits Production

• The world’s first motorcycle powered by an all-solid-state battery has rolled off the production line, Verge Motorcycles claims.
• At least on paper, the motorcycle appears to have exceptional range and charging speeds.
• Battery chemistry, however, remains a secret.

Estonian company Verge Motorcycles has started the production of what it claims is the world’s first solid-state battery motorcycle, it announced on Tuesday. The bike in question is the second-generation TS Pro, now equipped with an all-solid-state battery developed by Finnish startup Donut Lab.

It would be the first production EV of any kind with a solid-state pack, so this motorcycle would represent a massive step forward if the claims hold true.

Researchers have long described solid-state batteries as a “holy grail” technology, promising to cure range and charging anxieties while making big leaps in safety and longevity. But manufacturing them at scale without defects is extraordinarily difficult, which is why no major automaker has managed to commercialize them yet. Toyota, CATL, and Samsung have been chasing this for years, as have numerous upstarts. 

Photo by: Verge Motorcycles

There have been functional solid-state test beds before, such as a Ducati powered by QuantumScape cells that was unveiled last year. But no manufacturer has managed to sell a vehicle with all-solid-state cells (not semi-solid ones) to regular consumers. 

Donut Lab made a splash at CES earlier this year, saying it had built the world’s first production-ready all-solid-state battery. The numbers it threw around were out of this world, with 400 Wh/kg of energy density, 100,000 charging cycles, zero reliance on rare-earth materials, and a full charge in just five minutes.

To put that in perspective, the best mainstream EV batteries today hover around 200-250 Wh/kg of energy density, and even the most high-tech BYD cars in China with megawatt charging capabilities don’t fully charge from 0-100% in five minutes.

The announcement was met with immediate skepticism from industry experts, since the company showed up without independent data to back its claims. Donut Lab has since published independent test results, but those haven’t revealed the battery’s underlying chemistry or its cycle life, leaving key pieces of the puzzle fuzzy. 

But Donut also said its cells would land in actual production motorcycles by the end of the first quarter. So we knew the rubber would meet the road on these big claims sooner rather than later. Now Verge Motorcycles has made at least one TS Pro. 

The new TS Pro will come in two variants. The Standard Battery packs 20.2 kWh of capacity (17 kWh usable) and delivers a manufacturer-estimated 217 miles of range. The Large Battery steps up to 33.3 kWh (30 kWh usable) and 370 miles of range. Prices start at $29,990 here in the U.S., excluding taxes and fees. The big battery will set you back by an extra $5,000. And the reservation fee is $100.

Photo by: Donut Lab

The range on the standard pack is comparable to the outgoing lithium-ion model. But where the second-gen bike really distinguishes itself is charging speed. The first-generation TS Pro could go from 20% to 80% in 35 minutes. The new bike does the 10% to 80% charge in roughly 12 minutes, and Verge claims a peak charging rate of 200 kW, which is unusually high for a small battery motorcycle. If it checks out in real-world testing, it’s genuinely impressive.

Performance looks great on paper, too. Both variants can deliver 737 pound feet of torque through the company’s signature hubless rear-wheel motor and can sprint from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds.

Verge Motorcycles told InsideEVs in February that deliveries for early reservation holders will start in the first quarter. And those who place orders now will have to wait till the end of the year. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more independent test results from Donut Lab, as well as teardowns of customer bikes to find out what exactly this solid-state battery is made of.

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com