A quantum battery is a theoretical construct that could charge faster than conventional chemistry. This future technology involves taking qubits to a higher energy state, and lowering this state as a battery discharges. Therefore it should be possible to store energy for future use this way. That said, what is a quantum battery and would it be any use at all outside of a laboratory?
But is a Quantum Battery Really Possible?
We don’t know yet, because a qubit is just something in a person’s mind at the moment. However, the first step, presumably, should be describing what it does. Scientists at Toronto and Alberta Universities have attempted to do so and published a paper in July 2019.
A quantum battery of qubits would not use electro-chemistry, they say. So how would a quantum battery work? It would be utterly different, the scientists say. That’s because it would harness the power of excitonic energy instead, whereby an electron absorbs charged photons of light. Moreover, it would be “highly robust to energy losses” since it is in a “dark state” insulated from surroundings.
Could This Idea Ever Actually Get to Market?
Skeptics probably asked the question about lithium batteries once. Gaston Plante’s wife may have even asked what are you doing with lead and acid in the kitchen. The team from Toronto and Alberta Universities believe the battery would be able to absorb and release energy.
The fact that they don’t know how to achieve this does not necessarily mean it is impossible though. Some scientific discoveries are bursts of invention, although most are the result of hard work following a defined goal. Therefore the scientists are probably right to ask what a quantum battery is first. We need to know where we are going before we can claim to have a destination.
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