Scientists from the Australian Space Agency, CSIRO, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne have created the first proof-of-concept quantum battery, charged wirelessly with a laser. This quantum battery charges at a speed of femtoseconds (one quadrillionth of a second) and stores energy for nanoseconds, with charging taking one million times less time than discharging.
Fig：The clean lab for engineering the proof-of-concept quantum battery
Dr. James Quach from CSIRO explains, "It’s the first prototype which does a full cycle of a battery: in other words, you charge it, you store energy, and you can discharge it."
Despite this rapid charging, the prototype stores only a few billion electron volts—barely enough to power anything—equivalent to 1/200,000th of a mosquito's energy. However, the breakthrough validates the potential for fast, scalable quantum batteries.
Unlike traditional batteries, which rely on chemical reactions, quantum batteries use quantum properties like superposition and entanglement. According to Associate Professor James A. Hutchison, "The advantage of quantum is that the system absorbs light in a single, giant 'super absorption' event, which charges the battery faster."
Fig. : Composition of the quantum battery tuned for strong light–matter coupling.
A unique feature of quantum batteries is that their charging time decreases as their size increases, due to "collective effects" where multiple quantum cells work together to speed up the process. "Quantum batteries have this really peculiar property where the larger they are, the less time they take to charge," says Dr. Quach.
This technology holds vast potential for industries like electric vehicles (EVs), where charging could be drastically faster than refueling. Dr. Quach also envisions charging drones mid-flight with lasers, showcasing the broad applications of the technology.
Fig. 3: Metastabilisation of stored energy via intersystem crossing.
While the current prototype is far from practical, researchers are focused on extending the energy storage time. Dr. Quach states, "The next step for quantum batteries is extending their energy storage time. If we can overcome that hurdle, we’d be that bit closer to commercially viable quantum batteries."
In the future, quantum batteries could power everything from smartphones to quantum computers, marking an exciting frontier in energy storage.
