First Prototype Of Quantum Battery Creates New Form Of Energy Storage

When it comes to storing energy, the main methods are rather consistent. The most common one is in the form of leveraging a chemical reaction, usually by using an element that is very electroreactive, like lithium, which stores the electrical energy by moving electrons from a metal to an ion and vice versa.

Another way to store energy is ultracapacitors, which store the electric charge at the surface of a material like graphene directly. Lastly, energy can be stored in the form of heat or movement, like in heat batteries and flywheels.

However, it seems that a new method has just been added to the potential forms of energy storage by Australian researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne.

They unveiled an early prototype of a “quantum battery”, which leverages quantum effects instead of electric charge, chemical reaction, or heat & movement to store energy. They detailed their findings in a scientific paper published in the prestigious review  Light Sciences & Applications¹, under the title “Superextensive electrical power from a quantum battery”.

What Is A Quantum Battery?

Instead of chemical and/or electric charge, quantum batteries use the rather counterintuitive principles of quantum mechanics, including superposition and entanglement.

Entanglement is a phenomenon where two or more particles become so deeply linked that they share a single quantum state, regardless of the distance separating them.

So far, this idea has been extensively explored in theory, but with very few practical experiments testing the concept in the real world.

The key idea with the prototype developed by the researchers is a system called a microcavity, which can trap light and then convert it into electricity. In this case, the researchers used Fabry-Pérot cavities, a “sandwich” where light reflects between two parallel mirrors, which is already considered for many applications, like building new types of sensors.

Source: Applied Physics B

Another key concept is superabsorption of energy from light, the opposite phenomenon of superradiance. Superabsorption is a quantum-mechanical phenomenon where a group of atoms or molecules absorbs light collectively at a rate faster than the sum of their individual absorption rates.

So instead of adding up like with normal material, the absorption capacity increases exponentially.

As a result, a collection of particles can theoretically absorb light up to 10 times faster than independent particles, offering potential for extremely fast energy transfer. Which would be, of course, very useful for a battery system.

In practice, superabsorption is difficult to maintain in practical setups, as natural systems tend to favor light emission over absorption.

First Prototype Of A Quantum Battery

The researchers used a design called a multi-layered microcavity, using copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), a bright blue synthetic pigment commonly used as an organic semiconductor in OLEDs and solar cells.

Source: Light Sciences & Applications

This creates a strong light–matter coupling, or the interaction between light and a generated electric current.

“Upon charging, the energy is rapidly transferred to a metastable triplet state in CuPc, whose population persists for six orders of magnitude longer than the charging laser pulse. Electrical extraction is facilitated by charge transport layers that introduce both an energy gradient, which favours charge separation and transport.”

Importantly, this design creates an electrical power output that scales superextensively (superabsorption + superradiance) with the capacity of the battery. So the more of this material is present at once, the quicker the electric discharge can be.

“Our findings confirm a fundamental quantum effect that’s completely counterintuitive: quantum batteries charge faster as they get larger. Today’s batteries don’t function like that.”

Research lead James Quach.

First Quantum Battery Results

The prototype demonstrated the first experimental observation of superextensive steady-state electrical discharging power, an unpredicted phenomenon by quantum theory, but with obvious potential application in quantum batteries.

More precisely, using ultrafast spectroscopy methods, they measured the battery’s charging behavior. They found that the quantum battery retained stored energy for six orders of magnitude longer (six zeros) than it took to charge.

“We demonstrated a device that can be charged, store that energy and then discharge it. This is an exciting development in a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field. Hopefully quantum batteries will soon no longer be a theoretical idea but something than can be built in the lab.”

Daniel Gómez – RMIT Professor of Chemical Physics.

They also demonstrated that the microcavities can be charged with both coherent light (lasers) or “normal” light, making them flexible enough for practical applications beyond potential batteries.

Toward Practical Quantum Batteries

Stabilizing The Stored Energy

So far, a microcavity in the experience can hold the energy stable only for 50 nanoseconds, hardly enough for any practical application in energy storage.

However, this is going in the right direction, as this is three orders of magnitude longer than the equivalent state-of-the-art in microcavity quantum batteries operating at room temperature. And a larger system will likely have a much longer period of energy retention in any case, even without an improved design.

Energy extraction was tested, the devices displayed reasonable maximal discharging power densities between 10-40 microwatt/cm², a rather honorable result when compared to high-performance micro-supercapacitors, which themselves can display 30-175 microwatt/cm².

In addition, this performance was achieved at room temperature under ambient conditions, a rare situation with quantum phenomena that often require ultra-cold temperatures or high pressure, like superconductivity, for example.

Because this prototype demonstrates a scalable path to large energy storage capacity, it represents a solid first step toward usable quantum batteries.

The Next Steps

The next thing to improve will be to scale up the design and measure how much superabsorption boosts the performance in practice with more microcavities in the same device.

Another key step to follow will be to try to radically enhance the duration of the energy storage. Larger devices, colder temperatures, or a special lattice structure could help.

“While there’s still much work to be done in quantum battery research, we’ve made an important move towards realizing the possibilities. The next step for quantum batteries right now is extending their energy storage time. If we can overcome that hurdle, we’d be that bit closer to commercially viable quantum batteries.”

Research lead James Quach.

In the long run, such a battery could outperform chemical-based batteries, or at least supercapacitors, which are increasingly used in tandem with chemical batteries in heavy machinery, electric trucks, etc.

They could also potentially be a solid relay/buffer to charge a standard battery quicker, or form the basis of new, more efficient solar panels.

“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.”

Research lead James Quach.

The phenomenon revealed by this prototype could be usable beyond quantum batteries. For example, it could be used to create novel types of light-to-power devices, including photovoltaic systems.

Investing In Quantum Batteries

QuantumScape

As this quantum battery prototype is the very first of its kind, there is no direct way to invest in this concept just yet. But progress in battery technology is quick, and making the full transition from fuel vehicles to EVs is increasingly likely in a short timeline, as EVs are going to soon have more power, more range, and become cheaper to operate. And this was before a major oil price shock loomed on the horizon from the war with Iran.

A key part of this evolution is solid-state batteries, a type of design that removes the electrolyte normally used in lithium-ion batteries, making the battery both much denser and safer.

A leading company in the field is QuantumScape, a company founded in 2010 and in a deep partnership with the Volkswagen Group to help the world’s #2 largest automaker catch up in EV technology.

Source: QuantumScape

Under the 2024 agreement, PowerCo (Volkswagen battery department) can manufacture up to 40 gigawatt-hours per year of electric vehicle batteries, with the option to expand to 80 GWh a year. It also lets Volkswagen provide up to an extra 5 GWh of spare capacity QuantumScape has each year for customers beyond Volkswagen Group, as well as the right to license certain future QS technologies.

In 2025, a QuantumScape battery was incorporated in a high-end electric Ducati bike. Ducati is part of the Volkswagen group, together with automotive brands like Audi, Bentley, CUPRA, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, and Škoda.

QuantumScape’s battery design is extremely energy dense, much higher than the best lithium-ion designs used by Tesla, and charges 2-3x quicker, solving EVs’ slow charging time, a major issue for many consumers used to fuel cars.

Source: QuantumScape

With a short timeline to commercialization and a cemented partnership with an automotive group selling millions of cars per year, QuantumScape is well-positioned to become one of the leading battery suppliers to Western manufacturers, with the competition being either Chinese battery manufacturers like CATL or relatively new companies like Donut Labs.

It is now ramping up the mass production of its battery, with the Ducati bike just the technological demo, before a new line of EVs by Porsche, Audi, and other car brands rebuilt with QuantumScape batteries inside hit the market.

(You can read more about QuantumScape and its solid-state battery design in our investment report dedicated to the company and about Volkswagen and its EV strategy in this other dedicated report.)

Latest QuantumScape (QS) News & Developments

Study Referenced

^{1. Hymas, K., Muir, J.B., Tibben, D. et al. Superextensive electrical power from a quantum battery. Light Sciences & Applications 15, 168 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02240-6}