What is the current progress on solid state battery for ev

1. What’s actually shipping now: the motorcycle milestone

The most concrete near‑term deployment is Donut Lab’s claim that its all‑solid Donut Battery will be fitted to Verge Motorcycles’ TS Pro/TS Ultra units starting Q1 2026 and shown at CES 2026, with company and press reports asserting multi‑minute full charges and high cycle life ^[1][2][3][7]. Reporting notes specific performance claims — roughly five‑ to ten‑minute full‑charge times, ~400 Wh/kg energy density, and long cycle life — but those numbers come from the maker and early press demos rather than independent long‑term field studies ^[8][7].

2. Automakers moving from lab cells to demo fleets

Large OEMs and battery startups are pairing up to validate cell and pack designs in real vehicles: Stellantis has publicly validated Factorial Energy’s FEST® cells and plans a Dodge Charger Daytona demonstration fleet by 2026, citing validated energy densities, charging times and hundreds of cycles toward automotive qualification ^[4][5][9]. BMW, Mercedes partners and others have trialed SSB cells in test mules and are exploring semi‑solid or quasi‑solid approaches as a staged route to adoption ^[10][11].

3. China’s industrial sprint: standards, pilots, and ambitious claims

China has formally opened a national standard for solid‑state EV batteries and approved a pilot “All‑Solid‑State Electrolyte” production and testing program backed by major players including CATL and state‑linked institutes, a move designed to shorten the commercialization timeline and create domestic supply chains ^[6]. Chinese automakers and suppliers have also announced aggressive 2026 targets and high‑range claims — e.g., Dongfeng‑linked projects suggesting 600+‑mile packs and ultra‑fast charge architectures — though media coverage flags those as manufacturer claims to be proven on roads ^[12][13].

4. The technical benefits being touted

Manufacturers and suppliers promise SSBs will deliver higher energy density, faster charging, and improved thermal stability because solid electrolytes remove flammable liquids and enable lithium metal or silicon‑rich anodes; companies such as Factorial report 375–400 Wh/kg cells and rapid 15%→90% charge times in minutes in lab/validation settings ^[4][8][7]. Some demonstrations even claim pack‑level innovations — for example, VW/QuantumScape showing an 844 Wh/L pack in a Ducati prototype — underscoring real gains in volumetric energy and charging speed in targeted prototypes ^[14].

5. The limits, skepticism and why “coming soon” often lingers

The technical promises come with caveats repeatedly flagged in reporting: many performance figures are company‑supplied, long‑term durability, manufacturing yield and safety in large‑format automotive packs remain to be independently validated, and scaling from motorcycle or prototype packs to gigawatt‑scale car production is a different industrial problem ^[3][11][7]. Analysts and journalists note a pattern of optimistic timelines that slip, and some OEM efforts use “semi‑solid” or “quasi‑solid” formulations as pragmatic intermediate steps rather than full solid‑state replacements ^[11][14].

6. What matters in 2026 and beyond: validation, scale, and supply chains

Key near‑term signals to watch are independent road‑use data from Donut/Verge riders and Stellantis/Factorial demonstration fleets, Chinese pilot plant outputs and standards adoption, and whether early claims about cycle life, charge speed and safety hold up when cells are assembled into automotive packs at volume; absent external test campaigns, company press releases may overstate readiness ^[3][4][6]. If pilot programs convert to reliable production lines and third‑party testing confirms longevity and manufacturability, 2026–2030 could see SSBs accelerate EV range and charging performance; if not, expect diversified interim approaches (semi‑solid, advanced liquid electrolytes) to dominate the near term ^[11][14].