Researchers say their prototype is a big step towards fully functioning batteries with rapid charging times
Australian scientists have developed what they say is the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery.
Quantum batteries, first proposed as a theoretical concept in 2013, use the principles of quantum mechanics to store energy, and have the potential to be more efficient than conventional batteries.
Researchers have now created a prototype – charged wirelessly with a laser – that they believe is a major step towards fully functioning quantum batteries with rapid charging times.
Lead researcher Dr James Quach of the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, said: “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.”
