Is this the world’s first quantum battery? Australian scientists say so

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.” In conventional batteries, charge time increases with size. “That’s why your mobile phone takes about 30 minutes to charge and your electric car takes overnight to charge,” Quach said. In contrast, “quantum batteries have this really peculiar property where the larger they are, the less time they take to charge”, he said. That’s due to a feature know