Australia Builds World's First Quantum Battery Prototype
Australian researchers from CSIRO, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne have created the first proof-of-concept quantum battery that completes a full charge-discharge cycle, charging in femtoseconds and getting faster as it scales up.
A Counterintuitive Breakthrough
Australian scientists have achieved what was once purely theoretical: a working quantum battery that charges, stores, and releases energy. The proof-of-concept device, developed by researchers at CSIRO, RMIT University, and the University of Melbourne, represents the first time a quantum battery has completed a full charge-discharge cycle, according to findings published in March 2026 in the journal Light: Science & Applications.
The tiny, layered organic device can be charged wirelessly using a laser — reaching full charge in mere femtoseconds, or quadrillionths of a second. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect is a property that defies everyday intuition: the quantum battery charges faster as it gets bigger.
How Quantum Batteries Work
Unlike conventional batteries, which store energy through chemical reactions, quantum batteries exploit collective quantum effects — phenomena arising from the rules of superposition and entanglement at the subatomic scale. The molecules inside the device don't absorb energy individually. Instead, they behave collectively, sharing incoming energy in a coordinated burst known as "superabsorption."
"The more molecules packed into the device, the faster each one charges," explained Dr. James Quach, CSIRO's quantum science and technologies science leader, who led the engineering of the prototype. The charging time decreases proportionally to the square root of the number of molecular units — a scaling advantage that grows dramatically with size.
The device also retained its stored energy for nanoseconds, roughly six orders of magnitude longer than it took to charge. While nanoseconds may sound fleeting, this ratio represents a significant achievement in the quantum domain.
Scaling Potential — and Hard Limits
The prototype's electrical discharging power scales superextensively, meaning it grows faster than the number of molecules the battery contains. This stands in sharp contrast to classical batteries, where scaling up typically introduces inefficiencies.
However, the technology remains far from consumer-ready. The current device stores only a few billion electron-volts of energy — orders of magnitude too little to power a smartphone, let alone an electric vehicle. Its charge retention, measured in nanoseconds, is far too brief for conventional applications.
The research team had already made progress on this front. In July 2025, RMIT and CSIRO researchers extended quantum battery lifetime by 1,000 times, from nanoseconds to microseconds — a crucial stepping stone toward the current breakthrough.
Where Quantum Batteries Could Matter
While powering everyday electronics remains a distant goal, the technology's most promising near-term application may be in quantum computing itself. As quantum processors scale beyond laboratory constraints, they will require energy storage systems that operate at compatible speeds and scales. A room-temperature quantum battery with ultra-fast charging could be precisely what quantum computers need.
Beyond computing, researchers envision potential applications in:
- Ultra-fast EV charging — if storage duration can be extended
- Wireless energy transfer over distance
- Next-generation grid storage leveraging superextensive scaling
The Road Ahead
The Australian team's achievement transforms quantum batteries from a theoretical curiosity into an experimentally validated concept. The next critical hurdle is extending energy storage time from nanoseconds toward practically useful durations. If that challenge can be overcome, quantum batteries could fundamentally reshape how we think about energy storage — not as a slow chemical process, but as an instantaneous quantum event.
