Overview
- CSIRO, RMIT University and the University of Melbourne report a proof‑of‑concept quantum battery that for the first time charges, stores energy and then discharges it.
- The study, published in Light: Science & Applications, experimentally confirms a core prediction that charging time drops roughly as 1/√N as device size increases.
- The prototype is a tiny multi‑layer organic microcavity engineered with an energy‑extraction layer that converts captured light into an electrical current.
- Measured performance remains strictly laboratory‑scale, with capacity of only a few billion electron‑volts, charge retention lasting a few nanoseconds, and charging occurring in femtoseconds.
- Researchers say the priority now is scaling capacity and extending storage time, with industry partners sought, and they note potential long‑term uses could include rapid EV charging and powering quantum hardware.