Donut Lab Episode 13: Bipolar Battery Cells?
- Paul Roberts
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
Donut Lab is back with another episode defending its battery technology claims. This time, the company is focusing on its “bipolar cell” design and why it believes this solves one of the biggest challenges in battery development.
Inside Donut Lab’s Bipolar Battery Design
Since announcing the Donut Battery, one claim has attracted plenty of attention: the idea that a single Donut Battery cell can be configured to deliver different voltages.
In episode 13 of I Donut Believe, Donut Lab explains the technology behind that claim, demonstrating three cells on the bench that each show a different voltage reading.
The company says this is possible because of its bipolar cell design. It's an approach that battery engineers have explored for decades but which has historically been difficult to make work with lithium-ion technology.
In a conventional battery pack, individual cells are connected together to reach the required voltage. A bipolar design aims to stack active layers within the cell itself, potentially simplifying the pack design and improving efficiency.
Donut Lab says its solid electrolyte and alternative chemistry allow this approach to work, and that the demonstration also supports its claim that Donut Battery is a true solid-state battery.
The BCB Take
Battery technology is one of the hardest areas for riders to judge because the claims often happen far away from actual saddle time.
A cell that can deliver different voltages sounds clever, but riders care about the end result. More range? Faster charging? Less weight? Lower costs? Better packaging? That's where the technology has to deliver.
Donut Lab is doing a good job of explaining the science, but the next step is getting these batteries into production bikes. That's when we'll see whether the claims translate into a better ride.
Until then, it's still a promising idea waiting to prove itself on the road.
Ride safe, folks.
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