Researchers in Australia have built world's first prototype of a quantum battery which can be charged faster as the units of storage increase.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University in Australia , along with those at CSIRO , the country’s national science agency, have built the world’s first quantum battery prototype. Their rapid charging rates as the battery gets larger suggest it can serve as an important tool to replace chemical batteries being used today.
Quantum research has led us to unique quantum properties such as superposition and entanglement, which are being leveraged to build quantum computers. However, scientists believe that these properties can be applied to other applications too, where they can confer multiple advantages. James Quach, a researcher at CSIRO, has been working on a quantum battery concept since 2018 and made a battery prototype in 2022. While they were able to charge the battery, they lacked the means to discharge it. So, Quach built a new one that can also be discharged. How does the quantum battery work? The team’s battery consists of a multi-layered organic microcavity made from several materials that can trap light. The battery is charged wirelessly by using a laser, and the team used advanced spectroscopy techniques to confirm its charging behavior. The researchers hoped that the peculiar quantum effects of the materials used in the battery would also showcase their “collective effects,” in which each unit does not charge individually but charges collectively. Unlike a conventional battery, a quantum battery charges faster when more units are combined. For instance, if the battery has N units and each unit takes one second to charge individually, when connected, a quantum battery where all N units are charged collectively takes only 1/ √N seconds to charge. So, if one doubles the size of the quantum battery, charging it would take a little more than half the time needed to charge the original battery. This is counterintuitive to chemical batteries used today, whose charging times increase as battery size increases. What does the future look like? “Our proof-of-concept device showcases rapid, scalable charging and energy storage at room temperature, laying the groundwork for next-gen energy solutions,” said Quach in a press release. While the research is promising, it does not mean that quantum batteries will start appearing on the shelf soon. For starters, the charge these batteries can carry is very tiny. It ranges in a few billion electron-volts, not even enough to charge a smartphone. Moreover, the time for which they can hold this tiny charge is also minuscule – just a few nanoseconds. The research demonstrates the potential of quantum batteries. However, much work remains to be done before they can be brought to market. The researchers are working to scale up the prototype and test how long it can hold a charge. In an ideal world, the device would have the charging speed of a quantum battery but the energy-holding capacity of a conventional battery. It could also be that quantum batteries would work best for quantum computers and help them scale, too. “My ultimate ambition is a future where we can charge electric cars much faster than petrol cars, or charge devices over long distances wirelessly,” added Quach in the press release. The research findings were published in the Light: Science & Applications.
CSIRO Quantum Battery Quantum Physics RMIT University University Of Melbourne
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