23.06.2026
The Donut Lab battery controversy shows how quickly technical hype can turn into scepticism when bold claims are not supported by credible disclosure and a clear IP strategy.
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The core purpose of IP rights are to give inventors and owners confidence to disclose their products and inventions in detail, safe in the knowledge that they will receive appropriate protection in exchange.
However, patent filings do more than establish legal protection. They also serve as a powerful publicity tool by signalling credibility to investors, customers, and competitors. A published patent application is a technically detailed document that becomes part of the public record, giving companies a visibility and technical credibility that they might not otherwise achieve through traditional marketing. In this way, the patenting process functions as a dual-purpose strategy, simultaneously safeguarding intellectual property while building a company's reputation in its field.
In light of a famous recent failure to publish technical detailed, I will discuss why building excitement doesn’t have to come at the expense of a rigorous IP strategy.
At Keltie, we advise a disciplined approach to IP, co-ordinating your review, filing, and communications strategies:
Prior to public release, conduct an to review what you have and get your ducks in a row. If partnering is likely or supply chains are complex, map ownership and licensing boundaries early so that later disclosures don’t collide with IP disputes. Conduct Freedom‑to‑Operate searches to check that your technology doesn’t infringe existing filings. FTO also provides defensible evidence to investors that commercialisation is feasible without legal encumbrances.
Even if you want to keep the most exciting part to yourself for now, patentable value can lie in configurations, control systems, materials, and applications of your product. We advise early filing to ensure protection is maintained. Remember that publication isn’t due until 18 months after first filing, and that the patent application can be withdrawn before that publication. Publication can alternatively be brought forward, giving you the flexibility to decide.
In certain circumstances, for example for some environmentally friendly technologies, grant can also be accelerated. This gives faster access to enforceable rights and means that you can use your IP to publicly support your credentials at an earlier stage.
Adopt a Coordinated Disclosure Strategy. Rather than drip-feeding results, schedule comprehensive releases to build credibility. This clarity can defuse scepticism and reduces the risk that marketing outruns verifiable proof.
Donut Lab - a spin-off from Finnish electric motorcycle maker Verge Motorcycles - has stirred intense interest by declaring a breakthrough solid-state battery that promises 400 Wh/kg energy density, a 100,000-cycle lifespan, ultra-fast five-minute charging and high safety credentials, all without the use of lithium.
However, with the excitement came scepticism. While Donut Lab declared readiness for mass production, independent proof of their assertions was conspicuously absent from their initial presentation of the battery at CES 2026. The company responded to this scepticism with the “I Donut Believe” video-series, publishing results from tests performed on the battery by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. While these tests offered some reassurance, they addressed only narrow technical parameters, leaving key features like energy density and cycle life unvalidated by third parties. At the same time, the drip fed nature of the videos (with one released per week, including one on April Fool’s day) and the refusal to publish deeper technical and commercial data (for example including not filing any patent applications), led to allegations that the company were aiming to manufacture hype rather than build confidence. Suggestions have even recently been made that the battery is just a regular lithium ion battery.
The difficulty is not that staged disclosure is inherently illegitimate, but rather that it creates an information vacuum around the most interesting features. Donut’s selective disclosures offer a lesson that, without considered IP management and transparent disclosure, even the most promising tech can wilt in the court of public opinion.
Donut Lab has not disclosed any patent filings, nor provided clarity on IP ownership, fuelling speculation about ownership, partner entitlements, or freedom‑to‑operate constraints related to their batteries. This absence of evidence of a robust patent portfolio, particularly in a field where incumbents and well‑funded start‑ups publish and prosecute aggressively, has raised questions.
That is not to say this proves absence of IP. Applications may be unpublished, staged, or filed via partners. But when technical claims are controversial, visible IP signals seriousness, investability, and a plan for defensible market entry.
Priority year (12 months): If you file a first application (e.g., UK, DE, FR, or any Paris Convention/WTO state), you have 12 months to file a further patent application claiming priority for the same invention.
Publication (18 months): Patent applications are normally published after 18 months from the filing date or earliest priority date, until then the invention is confidential.
Early publication is optional: You may request earlier publication (subject to conditions), but you should do so only when it supports a commercial objective (e.g., starting provisional protection earlier or shaping public narrative).
Donut Lab’s saga underscores how scientific breakthroughs should be coupled with strategic IP and transparency planning. The company’s dramatic declarations has impressed some observers, but the lack of full disclosure, patent filings, or manufacturing scale raises red flags.
In contrast, companies like CATL and Toyota are managing expectations in a more industrial way by filing and publishing patent applications while openly framing solid‑state as a small‑scale 2027 milestone, with mass rollout not expected until later. CATL have even pushed back on exaggerated range rumours, and its patenting strategy (reportedly comprising hundreds of international filings) reinforces credibility.
For other firms racing toward next-century battery technologies, Donut Lab offers caution: hype alone isn’t enough, and can go hand in hand with appropriate IP strategy. Secure patent applications utilising filing mechanics (12 month priority, 18 month publication, optional early publication) to manage disclosure, clear ownership, proactive IP audits, and, when the time comes, full, credible disclosure are essential to convert early promise into long-term success.
If you would like advice on balancing publication with protection, please contact Lloyd Edwards or another trusted member of Keltie’s patent team.
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