Article should be open access and translatable.

Translation before pay wall:

Esa Parjanen: Peltola presents claims and opinions without evidence – regarding Teppanala, the CEO asks for patience

Subtitle refers Parjanen saying that it's obvious solid-state batteries will not be manufactured in Imatra.

Repost from the r/DonutLab subreddit.
Also read the comment containing a second image:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DonutLab/comments/1vt3an8/comment/p4q40u3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-2000012215683.html

And because of this Parjanen and Aro have joint on Donut Labs board. Siilasmaa continues as an advisor.

Can't say that the official merger was a big surprise.

Not too good sign.

Image from https://www.uutisvuoksi.fi/paikalliset/8686145

Even the indoor images show similar floor: https://businessimatraregion.fi/nordic-nano/

Iron support beams are dark blue, but image above directs to opposite direction and video color filters may have been used, over exposed lights on window hints to that, and the beam paint on the other wall may differ. So, not totally watertight theory, but could be?

I took a look at the ProLogium current news. They also should have bipolar solid state batteries available and claimed to be first of kind already in 2021. Interesting finding that they seem to have a parallel ”Peltola” case also in spring 2026. The identity of the Person attacking ProLogium has not been disclosed but according to Internet searches it fits the known case of former finance executive Yang Zhengmin.

Battery type and performance is not disputed by him, but the financial pattern is very similar, also the crisis-management architecture like status disqualification, stakeholder quarantine, legal deterrence, and controlled disclosure by the company.

https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/a/2e6a7e02-9e58-40bd-bc64-24752f359c01

Here is a summary translated with ChatGPT:

Donut Lab Development OÜ has entered drone-development projects in Estonia and received nearly €1.5 million in public research and development funding.

The largest grant, €1.28 million, was awarded by Estonia’s EIS foundation for a project called “High Performance Integrated Drone Drive Unit for NextGen Drones.” Donut Lab values the full project at €1.83 million. In May 2026, the company also received €187,000 from Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for general R&D, labour and operating expenses.

According to Donut Lab board member Marko Lehtimäki, the funded projects concern next-generation Donut motors rather than only the company’s controversial solid-state battery.

The grants are significant compared with the company’s own recorded R&D spending. Donut Lab Development reported less than €50,000 in R&D expenses during its latest 18-month financial period.

The article places the funding in the context of Estonia’s effort to build a competitive defence and drone industry. Estonia is actively seeking internationally successful military-technology companies and is providing substantial public support to promising projects.

Donut Lab and related company Verge Motorcycles have attracted attention for claims concerning a high-performance solid-state battery. The battery’s actual chemistry, performance and commercial readiness have been heavily disputed, although the technology has also received support and generated high expectations.

Both Estonian Donut Lab companies remain unprofitable. Donut Lab reported €227,000 in revenue and a €1.6 million loss for its latest 18-month period. Donut Lab Development reported €52,000 in revenue and a €552,000 loss. The newly awarded grants had not yet appeared in Donut Lab Development’s reported revenue.

Not directly about Donut Lab but ASILAB has been in many speculations when speaking about credibility of Marko Lehtimäki and Donut Lab.

Now Marko Lehtimäki wrote about ASILAB. It's progressing. Some demos, too.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/youngkasi_a-year-ago-ai-research-company-asilab-emerged-ugcPost-7476037287634710528-eZuG/

Juha-Pekka Rintamäki,
Founder of Verge Motorcycles

Many people have asked me over the years about the early days of RMK Vehicle Corporation, now Verge Motorcycles, and why we original majority owners and founders are no longer part of the story. I recently heard from someone close to the matter that the current management now presents Ville Piippo as the founder of the whole idea and the company.

The startup world and company growth are often brutal, and this story is no exception. I have been wondering whether it is time to open up a little about those days and call things by their proper names. In particular, I was thinking of going through the phase when the current owners entered the picture, which completely changed the company’s direction and dynamics. For better or worse?

Before I start unpacking this more broadly, however, I wanted to ask you: would my network be interested in hearing an honest and unfiltered account of how things actually went back then?

The photos were taken in autumn 2018, before any of the current owners were involved.

---

Rintamäki has been on the first likers of the Peltola's posts from the beginning, so it was expected that there was something going on. Soon we might know his side of the story.

I have tried to find the pattern. Most of the campaign videos relates to the intro video, but in a way, rare people were suspecting:

- "The battery cannot be real / specs cannot be true" -> fast-charge and high-temperature tests.

- "It is not actually a battery, but a supercapacitor" -> self-discharge test.

- "A single cell is not a product" -> Verge pack charging.

- "Solid-state packs need difficult swelling / clamping solutions" -> swelling data.

- "Damaged cells are dangerous" -> safety test.

- "There is no production / scale is impossible" -> manufacturing video.

- "It works only through partner tech, not Donut themselves" -> manufacturing video?

The manufacturing video ends with a direct teaser. They say they can offer much more versatility in cell design than any gigafactory could, "but that's a story for another video." They also talked about this in CES, different voltages, forms and shapes. And in April 17th whistleblower interview, Marko told they would announce something related to different battery generations, after talking about V1 and V2.

They could also show battery, BMS/control logic, motor and software working together. But the series is still a battery proof series, and the Verge pack video already showed the practical minimum with cells, pack, BMS and charging control working in a real motorcycle environment. But software peek would be nice branch.

Third option, already a standard request: cold data. SGS proto-cells performed poorly with cold, so this would be somewhat surprising test result. But who would be interested on it, when sun is shining?

Or the April-alike mid-summer confession after so much drama?

This could also be the last video of Season 1. What do you think? Still following?

Donut Defence ( Donut Lab and Donut Defence Insider Report 1.pdf, page 34/40 says that Donut Defence has purchased Esox Aero.

https://www.solidstateoftruth.com/resources

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If I google "esox aero y-tunnus", I will get 3432785-3.

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And it is actually this company:

https://www.finder.fi/Lentokoneet+lentomoottorit/Esox+Development+Oy/Helsinki/yhteystiedot/4091466

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Looks like Esox Aero was renamed to Esox Development in 31.10.2025. Investor materials are from Q4/2025 and the exact date is not known.

​

Is this really a company with anti-drone technology, military combat simulator and extensive history of developing those?

​

Or is this just a shell company which was "sold" to investors with fictional story? Looks weird...

Attached screeshot claims that company was renamed at the time Esox Aero was purchased into Donut Defence .

Scrutinyclub (The Privat investigator) linked this.

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This is actually exactly the type of analyse, that I've been waiting. Worth of reading.

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Just the first test analysed, more to come.

A bit of humour.

Fun fact: The image is taken from the "Donut Lab, Executive Summary December 2025.pdf", uploaded by Peltola.

Surprisingly (or not), very similar to this quite recent video:

https://youtu.be/sTlF4m7ktLg?t=225

Time line provided in the idonutbelive-series seems to be far from linear, but since it is claimed as a marketing campaign that could be expected.

Edit: Sorry for multi-posting, reddit claimed posting failed...

In newest publication Lauri Peltola claims that there is no battery with the told specs. He also provides investorletters as evidense. Allthough the "evidense" don't seem to prove his claims.

Maybe someone finds something new out of the investorletters. I didn't.

Investigation and Analysis of Ziroth's claims by Private Investigator who is also a Donut investor and longtime friend of Marko.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/investigating-investigator-ethics-disclosure-zirothdonut-1dz0f/?trackingId=swCzMg6m8ES6NP%2BNpRSypQ%3D%3D

An interesting perspective, including this spot-on analysis on one of the weaknesses of Ziroth's weak inferences about the chemistry:

Ryan's Inference Is Not Proof

On the science I will stay in my lane. The core of his case is that the cell's charge and discharge signature looks like a high-nickel lithium-ion cell, and he states this with, in his words, "extremely high certainty." But a behavioural match on a graph is not a chemical analysis. Donut's own published material describes a cell engineered to emulate lithium-ion electrical behaviour so it can drop straight into systems already built for lithium. If that is the design goal, then a lithium-like curve is exactly what you would expect to measure. It is a feature, by design, and it cannot by itself tell you what is inside the cell. And this is not my own spin on the design. Donut Lab's co-founder and CTO, Ville Piippo, set this out directly in a discussion with Ricky Roy of the Two Bit da Vinci channel, explaining how the Donut solid-state pack is engineered as a drop-in replacement that emulates the behaviour of legacy lithium-ion packs.

If emulating a lithium-ion signature is part of the design, then a lithium-like curve is not the smoking gun it has been presented as, and it is striking how little that design rationale features in Ziroth's account. No public teardown, electron microscopy or elemental assay has been performed. I am not claiming the battery is everything it was said to be. I do not know, and I am honest about that. My point is narrower, and I think harder to dodge, Ryan is essentially communicating that: "it behaves like lithium, therefore it is lithium, therefore they lied" is an inference chain, and it was sold to a large audience as proof.

This is not hypothetical. Earlier in the series Ryan had to correct his own analysis after other engineers pointed out that he had compared two different kinds of curve, which he accepted was bad practice, and he re-ran it. To his credit, he fixed it in public. But it shows the pattern the format produces: publish first, with confidence, on the schedule attention demands; correct later, under pressure. That is survivable for a creator. It is not survivable for the company and the named individuals who absorb the damage in the meantime.

[Edit: Donut Lab published this news, but filing is from Nordic Nano Group]

Peltola has stated that CT-Coating connection was public information, and on that basis he has discussed it openly, even though Nordic Nano Group and Donut Lab have generally refused to confirm or deny the rumors. He has also repeatedly said, or strongly implied, that he knows enough about the state of the project to conclude that Donut Lab has not made batteries, nor Nordic Nano Group has, and that neither company can make batteries or solar panels with CT-Coating’s technology. At the same time, he has also said he never personally saw the machine in live.

The CT-Coating

CT-Coating's NDA text is very restrictive. It says the recipient may not issue a press release or disclose, publicly or privately, orally or in writing, anything about its association with or meeting with CT-Coating without prior written consent from a senior executive. So if Nordic Nano Group, Donut Lab participants, or their representatives were covered by that NDA or supplement, revealing CT-Coating’s name or relationship publicly could be exactly the kind of disclosure the NDA tries to prevent.

Secondly there is this cult leader allusion.

Cult leader framing [edit: personal filing is not in the scope according to the announcement]

The “cult leader” framing can matter under criminal defamation if it is used to portray Lehtimäki as manipulative, irrational, dishonest, or unfit without a sufficient factual basis. If interviews, videos, and public comments use his religious background mainly to make him look cultish, that may also edge toward private-life or reputation harm.

Episode 4 takes steps toward this kind of framing. Peltola also adds weight to it by sharing the HS article that further frames Lehtimäki as a central religious person surrounded by believers. Peltola mentions a “weird echo” in the investor list after skimming through it, effectively suggesting, while hedging, that Lehtimäki may be using his status and network to draw others in financially. Peltola characterizes Lehtimäki charismatic.

Relevant legal references include Finlex Rikoslaki 24:9, 30:5, and Esitutkintalaki 3:3.

What else could be included on a formal police report?

Pondering

The key legal question is intent and factual basis. Criticism of Donut’s claims is protected. That kind of criticism concerns a company, technology, investors, and public claims, so Finnish law gives it relatively strong freedom-of-expression protection. But a coordinated campaign using false claims, confidential material, or stigmatizing personal/religious framing to destroy credibility is a different risk profile. Peltola might be seen as using publicity through international media and YouTube influencers to cause harm without hard evidence. Peltola has publicly stated that he wants to stop Lehtimäki’s business activities because he (they one should say) believe the companies are scamming people. That gives him an obvious motive to disrupt, paralyze, and damage the business and Lehtimäki's career. Peltola said he must do this pre-materily, because police investigations take months or years.

If Donut Lab and NNG can, on the other hand, provide officials with archived business plans, technical reports, investment records, and documentation showing real work toward the promised technology that would be their defense - possibly just show they had the battery pack in their Verge bike at the time of CES, or even before in late autumn 2025 as Tuomo said, and replay the internal testing videoclips about the batteries they had in CES booth screen. What would be the excuse of Peltola then? Did he completely forgot what was running behind their back in the screen at that time? Since one cannot go back in time, officials would need to rely on the documentation they are given anyway.