By Lucy Gosnell

Today’s lithium-ion batteries are the most common type of battery. However, lithium-ion batteries have relatively brief life spans, recycling difficulties, and most importantly, require many non-renewable resources to manufacture (The Environmental Impact…, 2020). Lithium-ion batteries, in the end, are not compatible with a sustainable future. On the contrary, quantum batteries are a new type of battery that offers instantaneous charging speeds and unprecedented storage levels, providing a sustainable alternative to the pitfalls of modern batteries (Bowers, 2023). 

Quantum batteries do not currently exist as a functioning prototype, but concept models are becoming more and more plausible. If these batteries were to exist, they would have to be charged by a special photoelectric laser (Rodríguez et al., 2024). This laser would excite the energy levels of the electrons within a quantum system, increasing their energy level. At a higher energy level, electrons can store energy. Then, to release that stored energy, photons are released from the quantum system. 

The reason that quantum batteries charge at instantaneous speeds is because of quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement is a concept where, when two or more particles are entangled, they become bonded so that no matter what distance moves between the particles, they will act the same way (Caltech, 2023). When one entangled particle is charged by the laser, all other particles that are entangled to it will also charge without having come into contact with the laser. This process, although seemingly science fiction, is growing closer to reality. 

A few issues persist when it comes to quantum batteries and creating a physical prototype. The first issue is that quantum batteries tend to dissolve into decoherence after being charged. Decoherence is a process that is exactly as it sounds– the system falls apart, and the battery ceases to store the energy. A possible solution to decoherence is a type of qubit, or quantum particle, called topological superconductors. These, along with fermions (quasiparticles), will stabilize the system by acting like “helpers” in the quantum model (Rodríguez et al., 2024). This, to say the least, is because of how the qubits and fermions store information related to the system’s information. 

Another barrier with quantum batteries is that their models are on a very small scale, such as individual quantum systems. To make a quantum battery, it would take many systems interconnected and functioning. But creating a large-scale quantum battery model is difficult, mostly because it would require considering mathematics and physics in a non-Markovian environment (Morrone et al., 2023). Non-Markovian means that memory is a factor in calculations; for instance, everything that happened before, and everything that could happen, has an impact on what is happening in the moment. This is a more complicated and nuanced approach to the quantum battery model, but also the more plausible approach in creating a large-scale, functional model. 

Overall, quantum batteries have many pros and cons. These new batteries do not easily degrade over time, as opposed to lithium batteries, and have an instantaneous charging time. They have higher storage capacity and reduced heat dissipation. On the contrary, quantum batteries need further development and research. They also would require extremely low temperatures, under current models, to function. 

When considering real-world applications of quantum batteries, this new technology probably would not replace the AA batteries in your TV controller or replace your car’s battery. Instead, quantum batteries will be paired with large energy fields, like solar plants or wind farms, so that energy that is produced will not immediately be dispersed into applications and can be stored instead of wasted. 

Bibliography:

Bowers, J. (2023, April 19). Quantum batteries: rethinking energy storage is possible. Polytechnique Insights. https://www.polytechnique-insights.com/en/columns/science/quantum-batteries-rethinking-energy-storage-is-possible/ 

Caltech. (2023). What Is Entanglement and Why Is It Important? Caltech Science Exchange. https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/quantum-science-explained/entanglement

Morrone, D., Rossi, M. A. C., Smirne, A., & Genoni, M. G. (2023). Charging a quantum battery in a non-Markovian environment: a collisional model approach. Quantum Science and Technology, 8(3), 035007. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565/accca4

Rodríguez, R., Ahmadi, B., Suárez, G., Mazurek, P., Barzanjeh, S., & Horodecki, P. (2024). Optimal quantum control of charging quantum batteries. New Journal of Physics, 26(4), 043004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ad3843

The Environmental Impact of Lithium Batteries. (2020, November 12). IER. https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22522217224&gbraid=0AAAAADhYN4FOii897-w5IIHeh4t7YXotl&gclid=CjwKCAjwkvbEBhApEiwAKUz6-7p6mleYACe9oByGz5766f_hgaV4_Dv13S5mtrPihSdemJhVACZ7JhoCeuwQAvD_BwE