Australian Scientists Develop First Wireless Quantum Battery Charged by Lasers
Australian scientists have successfully developed and tested the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery, capable of charging wirelessly via laser, marking a significant step toward ultra-fast charging energy storage. The prototype, engineered by researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, can fully charge, store, and discharge energy, operating on the principles of quantum mechanics rather than traditional chemical reactions.
The breakthrough, announced on March 21, 2026, builds on research initiated in 2013 exploring the theoretical potential of quantum batteries. Unlike conventional batteries where charging time increases with size, quantum batteries exhibit a counterintuitive property: larger batteries charge faster due to “collective effects,” where quantum cells charge more rapidly when more cells are involved. Researchers first demonstrated this property in 2022, but lacked a method for extracting energy from the prototype until now.
“It’s the first prototype which does a full cycle of a battery: in other words, you charge it, you store energy, and you can discharge it,” said Dr. James Quach, quantum science and technologies science leader at CSIRO. “Our findings confirm a fundamental quantum effect that’s completely counterintuitive: quantum batteries charge faster as they gain larger. Today’s batteries don’t function like that,” he added.
The prototype utilizes a multi-layered organic microcavity and is charged wirelessly with a laser. Advanced spectroscopy techniques confirmed the prototype’s charging behavior, demonstrating it retained stored energy for six orders of magnitude longer than the charging time. Although, Dr. Quach cautioned that the current energy storage capacity is limited to a few billion electron volts, insufficient to power practical devices.
Researchers are now focused on extending the battery’s storage duration to enable real-world applications. A key potential application lies in wirelessly powering devices, including the possibility of charging drones in flight. “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,” Dr. Quach stated.
The research, conducted in collaboration with RMIT University and the University of Melbourne, has been published in Light: Science & Applications. While fully functional quantum batteries remain years away, the successful demonstration of a complete charge-store-discharge cycle represents a crucial milestone. The technology could eventually be used to power quantum computers or little electronic devices, offering unprecedented efficiency and speed in energy storage.