Next-generation batteries Australian researchers are developing could potentially recharge electric cars faster than petrol vehicles fill up and top up smartphone instantaneously.
The CSIRO's quantum battery research team made the predictions on Wednesday after publishing details of a breakthrough in the technology, creating the world's first proof-of-concept device.
There are still significant hurdles to overcome before quantum batteries reach their potential, including increasing the size and capacity of the technology and ensuring it can retain energy for longer.
The announcement comes after Australian households installed more than 250,000 home batteries under a federal government discount scheme, and electric vehicles represented a record 11.8 per cent of new cars sold in February.
Conventional batteries used in these applications were reaching the limits of their capability, CSIRO quantum batteries team lead James Quach said, and could become more powerful and charge faster if they operated under the rules of quantum mechanics.
"Potentially, when quantum batteries become viable we could have super-fast charging processes when your phone could almost charge instantaneously," Dr Quach told AAP.
"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."
The CSIRO team created a proof-of-concept quantum battery to demonstrate and test the technology, with their results published in the journal Light: Science and Applications.
The world-first prototype charges wirelessly using a laser, converting the light into an electric current, and proved it could store energy for six times longer than it took to power up.
Curiously, big quantum batteries charged faster than small batteries, Dr Quach said
This could deliver benefits for power-hungry applications such as electric cars and large-scale energy storage projects.
Challenges to further developing quantum batteries included scaling up the technology and extending its energy storage time.
The research had come a long way from its theoretical basis in 2013, Dr Quach said, but the group would seek assistance from external groups to extend its progress, with potential investors including electric vehicle manufacturers.
"The pay-off is enormous and it's something we need, especially as we move to renewable energy and the electrification of things," he said.
"We're looking at partners, either (venture capital firms) or other bodies who are looking at deep quantum tech, and another potential partner would be companies which have a financial interest in the next generation of quantum batteries."
Developing quantum technologies was named a national priority in 2023, and Australian projects include PsiQuantum's utility-scale computing facility in Brisbane and computer circuit technology by Quantum Brilliance in Victoria.