Australian researchers develop quantum battery proof-of-concept which uses lasers to charge near-instantly — breakthrough could pave the way for ultra-fast wireless charging for EVs and drones in the future, say researchers

An Australian research team has developed a quantum battery that could be the stepping stone towards a revolution in battery technology. This prototype is only a proof of concept, with a capacity of only a few billion electron volts, which lead researcher Dr. James Quach of the Australian national science agency CSIRO describes as "very small and not enough to power anything useful." However, the work towards a fully functioning prototype, showcased in the Light: Science and Applications journal (h/t The Guardian), is a promising sign of the future.

First, the battery took femtoseconds (or quadrillionths of a second) to completely charge, and stored its energy for nanoseconds. The six orders of magnitude difference that was recorded is, Quach believes, similar to a battery that took a minute to charge but would ultimately stay charged for "a couple of years."

A fully functional quantum battery would, in theory, be able to charge with incredible speed and, using lasers, be remotely charged. Quach mentions its potential application in drone technology, where "you could charge it while it's in flight." Quach also believes it would revolutionize the electric car industry, suggesting that "once the technology matures... you would no longer need to stop your car at a petrol station to charge it up; you could charge it on the go."

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It all boils down to how a battery is designed to work. With conventional batteries, the bigger the battery, the longer it takes to charge. Quantum batteries flip that on its head, with what Quach describes as a "really peculiar property" called collective effects, which allows quantum battery cells to charge faster when there are more of them grouped together. Quantum batteries don't rely on the chemical nature of conventional counterparts but instead rely on quantum mechanics, where the strange properties of subatomic particles entangle all of the cells together.

Professor Andrew White, a lead researcher in quantum technology at the University of Queensland, who wasn't involved in this research, is certainly impressed. The "really nice piece of work," White believes, demonstrates that the tech isn't just a theory but "a working prototype." While White believes that the tech won't be turning up in any new electric cars "any time soon," he does instead believe that "probably the first place that it'll have an impact is actually for quantum computers." White goes on to say that quantum batteries would power these machines "coherently... with the minimum energy cost to these computers."

EVs, quantum computers, drone technology — the real-world applications of a battery like this could be revolutionary. CSIRO, the Australian agency behind the research, is already looking for "interest from potential development partners" to help it take it to the next level. With only nanoseconds of energy storage right now, there's some way to go before this experimental technology is ready for prime time, but the researchers are already looking to "overcome that hurdle" as quickly as possible.

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