Whether it's photovoltaics or fusion, sooner or later, human civilization must turn to renewable energies. This is deemed inevitable considering the ever-growing energy demands of humanity and the finite nature of fossil fuels. As such, much research has been pursued in order to develop alternative sources of energy, most of which utilize electricity as the main energy carrier. The extensive R&D in renewables has been accompanied by gradual societal changes as the world adopted new products and devices running on renewables. The most striking change as of recently is the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. While they were hardly seen on the roads even 10 years ago, now millions of electric cars are being sold annually. The electric car market is one of the most rapidly growing sectors, and it helped propel Elon Musk to become the wealthiest man in the world.
Unlike traditional cars which derive energy from the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, electric vehicles rely on batteries as the storage medium for their energy. For a long time, batteries had far lower energy density than those offered by hydrocarbons, which resulted in very low ranges of early electric vehicles. However, gradual improvement in battery technologies eventually allowed the drive ranges of electric cars to be within acceptable levels in comparison to gasoline-burning cars. It is no understatement that the improvement in battery storage technology was one of the main technical bottlenecks which had to be solved in order to kickstart the current electric vehicle revolution.
However, despite the vast improvements in battery technology, today consumers of electric vehicles face another difficulty -- slow battery charging speed. Currently, cars take about 10 hours to fully recharge at home. Even the fastest superchargers at the charging stations require up to 20-40 minutes to fully recharge the vehicles. This creates additional costs and inconvenience to the customers.
To address this problem, scientists looked for answers in the mysterious field of quantum physics. Their search has led to the discovery that quantum technologies may promise new mechanisms to charge batteries at a faster rate. Such concept of "quantum battery" has been first proposed in a seminal paper published by Alicki and Fannes in 2012. It was theorized that quantum resources, such as entanglement, can be used to vastly speed up the battery charging process by charging all cells within the battery simultaneously in a collective manner.
This is particularly exciting as modern large-capacity batteries can contain numerous cells. Such collective charging is not possible in classical batteries, where the cells are charged in parallel independently of one another. The advantage of this collective versus parallel charging can be measured by the ratio called the 'quantum charging advantage'. Later, around the year 2017, it was noticed that there can be two possible sources behind this quantum advantage -- namely 'global operation' (in which all the cells talk to all others simultaneously, i.e., "all sitting at one table") and 'all-to-all coupling' (every cell can talk with every other, but a single cell, i.e., "many discussions, but every discussion has only two participants"). However, it is unclear whether both these sources are necessary and whether there are any limits to the charging speed that can be achieved.
Recently, scientists from the Center for Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) further explored these questions. The paper, which was chosen as an "Editor's Suggestion" in the journal Physical Review Letters, showed that all-to-all coupling is irrelevant in quantum batteries and that the presence of global operations is the only ingredient in the quantum advantage. The group went further to pinpoint the exact source of this advantage while ruling out any other possibilities and even provided an explicit way of designing such batteries.
In addition, the group was able to precisely quantify how much charging speed can be achieved in this scheme. While the maximum charging speed increases linearly with the number of cells in classical batteries, the study showed that quantum batteries employing global operation can achieve quadratic scaling in charging speed. To illustrate this, we will consider a typical electric vehicle with a battery that contains about 200 cells. Employing this quantum charging would lead to a 200 times speedup over classical batteries, which means that at home charging time would be cut from 10 hours to about 3 minutes. At high-speed charging stations, the charge time would be cut from 30 minutes to mere seconds.
Researchers say that consequences can be far-reaching and that the implications of quantum charging can go well beyond electric cars and consumer electronics. For example, it may find key uses in future fusion power plants, which require large amounts of energy to be charged and discharged in an instant. Of course, quantum technologies are still in their infancy and there is a long way to go before these methods can be implemented in practice. Research findings such as these, however, create a promising direction and can incentivize the funding agencies and businesses to further invest in these technologies. If employed, it is believed that quantum batteries would completely revolutionize the way we use energy and take us a step closer to our sustainable future.
FAQs
Summary: New technology could make charging electric cars as fast as pumping gas. Quantum charging could cut the charging time of electric vehicles from ten hours to three minutes. Whether it's photovoltaics or fusion, sooner or later, human civilization must turn to renewable energies.
How can electric cars charge faster? ›
For the absolute fastest charging possible, you'll want to plug into a Level 3 connection, colloquially known as a DC fast-charger. These are the EV equivalent of filling that barrel with a fire hose. A certifiably lethal current of DC power is pumped into the car's battery, and miles of range are added in short order.
What is the future electric car charging technology? ›
Faster public charging
Future EV charging technology will offer drivers a full charge in a few minutes using high-powered charging stations. This will make a stop to charge your car very similar to a stop to fill up for fuel in terms of time, and for a fraction of the price!
What new method could make charging EVs while driving a reality? ›
Companies around the world are experimenting with new technology that can wirelessly charge EVs while they drive, thanks to copper coils buried beneath the asphalt. It could mean less time spent plugging in at slow chargers, no need for heavy, expensive lithium-ion batteries and wave goodbye to range anxiety.
What is the latest EV technology? ›
Battery technology innovations play a key role in the EV market. Advancements in lithium batteries have reduced EV battery costs by 90% since 2008, making EVs more affordable, providing more mileage, and reducing range anxiety. Advancements in EV chargers and smart grids further boost consumer interest.
What is the fastest option for charging an electric vehicle? ›
A level 2 charger allows you to charge your electric car 5 to 7 times faster for a full-electric car or up to 3 times faster for a plug-in hybrid compared to a level 1 charger. This means you'll be able to maximize the use of your EV and reduce stops to charge at public charging stations.
What is the fastest way to charge an all-electric vehicle? ›
A Wallbox or AC charging station is faster. The fastest way to charge is to use High Power Charging (HPC) stations with a charging output of 100 kW or more. In general, we recommend that you do not charge your electric car fully every day.
How can I speed up my EV charging? ›
Charge When Its Warmer
Charging your car during the daytime when it may be warmer can help increase the speed at which your electric vehicle charges. However, charging costs during a warmer time in the day or during peak hours will be more expensive when compared to charging at night when it may be colder.
Why can't electric cars charge faster? ›
Maximum kW differences
Lower EV charge speed is sometimes due to a difference between car charging capacity and charger maximum power output. Home charging stations typically have outputs of 7, 11, or 22 kW. A kW is short for kilowatt.
Will electric cars ever be self charging? ›
On top of this, the infrastructure doesn't exist to support self-charging cars and there are no Governments driving the idea forwards. However, scientists are making developments in this field. While it is not possible yet, electric cars may be able to charge themselves in the future.
Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ technology is the number one method for fast charging. Quick Charge 5 is world's Fastest Commercial Charging Solution delivering astonishing charging speeds of up to 0-50% in five minutes while enabling new battery technology, accessories, and safety features.
Why is EV not the future? ›
While bigger batteries allow drivers to travel farther between charges, they also make the cars heavier, more dangerous, more expensive, and worse for the planet. The "range anxiety" that has resulted in massive batteries is another reason EVs don't work as a replacement for gas cars.
Why can't an EV charge itself while driving? ›
Why can't electric cars charge themselves while driving? You only use the energy previously kept in an electric car's batteries when you drive one. As a result, an electric vehicle consumes energy while in motion, and if there aren't enough solar panels on the roof, it won't be able to recharge fully.
Is there a way to charge an EV while driving? ›
The most common way an electric vehicle can charge itself is through regenerative braking. When a vehicle is in motion, the process that creates power for the motors at the wheels can be reversed. The dissipation of kinetic energy decelerates the vehicle while charging the battery.
Which electric car can power a house? ›
Nissan quickly ratcheted up bidirectional technology: Today, a fully charged 62-kWh battery in a Nissan Leaf E+ can power a typical Japanese home for up to four days. The company continues to send EVs to help after natural disasters.
What is the fast charge technology? ›
The majority of fast charging standards typically change the voltage rather than boost the amperage to increase the amount of potential energy. Standard USB 3.0 ports output at a level of 5V/1A for smaller devices like wearables. Most phones and other devices are capable of handling at least 5V/2.4A.
What is the current EV charging technology? ›
Wired and wireless charging are the two ways battery electric vehicles can be charged. In the wired charging technique, direct cable connections between the electric vehicle and the charging apparatus are provided, which may be further separated into AC and DC charging technologies.
What makes electric cars accelerate faster? ›
The secret is that while traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars gradually build up to peak torque and quickly run short of it, electric motors generate maximum torque from the moment they start spinning and hold on to it for much longer.
