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. 

Read More