Researchers Identify Limits on Quantum Battery Energy And Power Stability

Insider Brief

• Researchers identified fundamental limits on quantum-battery reliability, showing how charging strategies can balance high power with more stable energy delivery.
• The theoretical study found that quantum uncertainty prevents fluctuations in delivered energy and power from both being made arbitrarily small simultaneously.
• Charging cells collectively increased power but also power fluctuations, while charging interacting groups of cells offered a compromise between higher power and stable operation.
• Image: Power and work vs their reliability in the charging process of quantum batteries. Schematic illustration of the reliability of a quantum battery during the charging process. 

PRESS RELEASE — New research identifies fundamental limits on the reliability of quantum batteries and shows how charging strategies can balance high power with stable energy and power delivery. The findings represent an important step toward the future development of practical and useful quantum energy-storage devices.

Quantum uncertainty sets a fundamental trade-off in quantum batteries, limiting their ability to deliver both stable power and reliable energy at the same time.

Quantum batteries are an emerging area of research, with progress being made through theoretical studies and proof-of-principle experiments in small quantum systems. Unlike conventional chemical batteries used in everyday life, they use quantum systems to store and transfer energy. They are being explored as potential future energy sources for quantum processors and other quantum technologies. Previous research has focused mainly on how fast and powerfully quantum batteries can be charged.