Electric vehicles may be the wave of the future, but each machine is only as good as its battery. A breakthrough in quantum computing from a Daimler-IBM collaboration may change the way we think about the power of lithium. Researchers are one step closer to creating cheaper, more powerful, longer lasting batteries accessible to a broad market.

Modeling molecules isn’t just for biotech anymore – a recent study from Cornell University shows how simulating potential dipole moments in lithium-sulfur batteries could unlock the door for next-generation design. Through the magic of qubits and an IBM Q Valencia, a variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithm uses classical and quantum components to simulate elements of a Li-S battery.

With these models, researchers hope to expand their current knowledge of lithium batteries by accelerating simulations to predict and explain molecules’ properties and behaviors. Hyper-efficient batteries may not hit the market tomorrow, but with the help of quantum computing, researchers are laying the groundwork for a breakthrough in EV battery technology. 

Source: IBM