Blue sky thinking: quantum batteries would be big leap forward for EVs

Weird science has a pleasing way of turning up in real life. The lumpen car battery, with its innards of lead and sulphuric acid, works thanks to the effects of relativity, which deliver five-sixths of its charge, according to research published in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

Quantum mechanics, the as-yet irreconcilable flipside of relativity, promises to make both the old-style car battery and internal combustion engine obsolete. Quantum batteries in development could theoretically charge at lightning speed, solving a significant obstacle to widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Quantum batteries use light in the form of a laser, or a maser (a laser’s microwave analogue) or even sunlight to increase the electric energy of a molecule for later release. The quantum phenomenon of entanglement allows many molecules to be energised at once. The bigger the quantum battery, the faster it charges.

Real-world applications are years away but the concept has been proved by researchers in South Korea. You could argue that this makes quantum batteries a more realistic prospect for EVs than solid-state batteries, or quantum glass batteries. The latter are used in low-charge, long-release applications such as pacemakers but have not been shown to work for EVs.

Investors have put billions of dollars into solid-state batteries. QuantumScape, a developer that floated two years ago, once had a market cap of almost $48bn. But its lack of progress turned that investment sour and the company is now worth less than a tenth of that. Other EV start-ups with lots of hype but no profits have gone the same way.

Fast-charging, long-lasting batteries are the holy grail of the EV industry. As yet, however, no fully functional prototype exists. Those that promise a revolution are competing with both today’s technology and tomorrow’s. Quantum batteries are a more recent development than solid-state ones, which may be why no billion-dollar start-ups have promised to make them real. The quantum future is still years away.