Scientists led by Jim Quach, a quantum science researcher at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), have succeeded in building a prototype quantum battery that can be charged on the femtosecond scale. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second, and this achievement could be an important step toward developing quantum battery technology.
According to ITNA citing TechSpot, this battery uses a phenomenon called superabsorption. In this phenomenon, the more molecules involved, the faster the system can absorb energy. This behavior is completely different from conventional batteries, which typically require more time to charge as their size increases.
The constructed prototype consists of a micro optical cavity with two mirrors placed about 100 nanometers apart. The space between these mirrors is filled with molecules of an organic dye. Laser irradiation causes strong interactions between light and the molecules and hybrid light–matter states form. As a result, the molecules collectively absorb energy.
The tested quantum battery charges in femtoseconds and can retain energy for a few nanoseconds; that is, the energy retention time is roughly six orders of magnitude greater than the charging time. The research team had previously demonstrated superabsorption in 2022 and in the new experiment has been able to also demonstrate extraction of electric current from this system.
Nevertheless, this technology is not yet ready to replace phone, laptop, or electric vehicle batteries. The current prototype stores only a very small amount of energy, on the order of a few billion electronvolts, and its retention time is also very short. Therefore increasing capacity and the lifetime of energy storage are among the most important challenges ahead.
To address this problem, researchers are seeking to build a hybrid design in which the quantum part provides fast charging and its classical layers handle longer-term storage. Also, connecting multiple microscopic batteries together could in the future enable powering conventional devices.
One advantage of this method is operation at room temperature. Some other quantum battery designs require superconducting materials and very low temperatures, which are not suitable for use in products like smartphones.
At present, the most likely application for quantum batteries is in quantum hardware, where the speed and control of energy transfer matter more than storage capacity.