A team of researchers from CSIRO, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne has built the first working prototype of a quantum battery — a device that charges, stores, and releases energy using the laws of quantum physics rather than chemical reactions.
Published in the journal Light: Science & Applications, the breakthrough demonstrates a proof-of-concept device that can be charged wirelessly using a laser. While practical quantum batteries remain years away, the prototype represents the closest anyone has come to making the theoretical concept a physical reality.
Batteries That Get Faster as They Grow
Perhaps the most surprising finding is that quantum batteries appear to charge faster as they get larger. "Our study found quantum batteries charge faster as they get larger, which is not how today's batteries work," said Daniel Tibben, an RMIT PhD candidate and study co-author. "It's a sign that quantum batteries could one day outperform conventional energy-storage technologies."
Traditional batteries — whether lithium-ion, lead-acid, or solid-state — don't gain charging efficiency with size. A larger battery simply holds more energy. Quantum batteries flip that relationship entirely, leveraging quantum effects like superposition and entanglement to enable what physicists call "superabsorption," where energy absorption rates increase with the number of quantum components working together.
How It Works
The prototype is a small, layered organic device — essentially a thin film that absorbs energy when hit by a laser beam. Unlike a phone battery where lithium ions shuttle between electrodes through chemical reactions, the quantum battery stores energy in the excited states of its molecular structure.
Co-author Daniel Gómez, an RMIT Professor of Chemical Physics, described the achievement as a major milestone. "We demonstrated a device that can be charged, store that energy and then discharge it," he said. "Hopefully quantum batteries will soon no longer be a theoretical idea but something that can be built in the lab."
The Road Ahead
The team is now focused on extending how long quantum batteries can hold their charge — currently a key limitation. Energy stored in quantum states can dissipate quickly through a process called decoherence, where the fragile quantum effects break down due to environmental interference.
Lead author Dr. James Quach, a CSIRO Science Leader, outlined ambitious goals for the technology. "My ultimate ambition is a future where we can charge electric cars much faster than fuel petrol cars, or charge devices over long distances wirelessly," he said.
If the technology scales as the physics suggests, quantum batteries could eventually enable near-instant charging for electric vehicles, wireless energy transfer across rooms or buildings, and energy storage densities that dwarf anything chemistry can offer.
For now, the device exists at laboratory scale and the team acknowledges there is "still much work to be done." But the fact that a working prototype exists at all — at room temperature, no less — marks a significant shift from theoretical curiosity to engineering challenge. And that's a threshold that tends to accelerate progress.
