# Donut Lab solid-state battery

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/donut-lab-solid-state-battery/

7 people recommended Donut Lab solid-state battery in Hacker News comments, 6 had mixed feelings and 26 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 4 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. Donut Lab's battery is recommended for its claimed fast charging and safety, but critics say claims lack independent proof.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Claims lack independent proof (4 comments in the sample): "so many red flags around something so exceptionally revolutionary that you'd need extremely strong and unquestionably real proof" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47127589)) "It's incredibly suspect that in a battery capacity test, Donut did not have VTT verify cell weight or dimension." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47125175)) "Their claims about cost are much more suspicious, and they have shown no proof about them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47138715))
- Fraud and scam allegations (4 comments in the sample): "Nanoprinted snakeoil - infinitely scalable. Good enough to grab 3M€ public grants and some more from gullible private investors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510696)) "Guess Donut went with "fake it till you make it" business strategy but somewhere along the way forgot the "make it" part." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457349)) "The early videos of their lab results looked a big enough scam that I couldn't believe people were buying the hype." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48454995))
- Results match ordinary batteries (3 comments in the sample): "It's probably a very high end expensive battery but not the miracle that was promised in CES." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217754)) "Donut battery behaves just like any other battery is expected to behave in same testing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47376358)) "They launched a new battery as some life-changing technology - which it seems is not." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47150998))

## Why people recommend it

- Claimed on-schedule, scalable production (2 comments in the sample): "Solid state is on schedule for mass production." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46646764)) "It is nanoprinted and trivially scalable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46509626))
- Impressive claimed specs and performance (2 comments in the sample): "what they've just demonstrated is already a game-changer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47126902)) "Specs are very impressive, aren't they?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46499538))
- Claimed safety, durability and density (2 comments in the sample): "The safety and durability (plus no lithium) prospects of Donut's V1 battery are still big though" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47862602)) "it would potentially allow for less thermal management and even more density at pack level" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47125472))

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Donut Lab solid-state battery", https://hackerapproved.com/p/donut-lab-solid-state-battery/ (7 recommend, 6 mixed, 26 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.