In a move that could one day dethrone fossil fuels and hydrogen cells, Chinese researchers have built a quantum engine powered by entanglement — the bizarre, faster-than-light link between particles that Einstein once dismissed as “spooky action at a distance.” The first working prototype of an engine that runs on quantum weirdness, not gas or hydrogen.
Unveiled by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, the new device is the first experimental realization of an engine that uses quantum entanglement as a form of fuel.
“This marks a turning point,” says co-author Zhou Fei, “We’ve shown that entanglement isn’t just a theoretical resource — it’s a usable source of energy in physical machines.”
A New Kind of Engine
Forget combustion and gas turbines. This quantum engine doesn’t burn anything. Instead, it leverages the entangled state of particles — in this case, two ultra-cold, trapped calcium ions (40Ca⁺) — to convert laser energy into motion.
Using precisely timed lasers, the research team manipulated these ions into highly entangled quantum states. These quantum states were then harnessed to produce mechanical vibrations, effectively converting light into motion — a radically new form of energy transformation.
“It’s like fueling a car with information instead of gasoline,” says physicist Feng Mang, co-author of the study published in Physical Review Letters.
Efficiency That Defies Classical Limits
Over 10,000 trials, the team observed that greater entanglement consistently resulted in higher mechanical efficiency, although it didn’t always improve overall energy conversion. Still, the fact that entanglement boosted the engine’s performance at all is a landmark discovery.
More importantly, quantum engines could potentially bypass classical thermodynamic limits, with theoretical efficiencies surpassing 25%, enough to power quantum circuits, AI supercomputers, and even next-gen spacecraft.
Quantum Energy Without Boundaries
Why is this so significant? Because entanglement defies distance. Two particles can remain in sync whether they’re separated by inches or light-years. That could one day lead to distributed quantum engines, where entangled particles across a city or continent operate in perfect sync, all without wires or traditional fuels.
And it’s not just theory anymore.
“We’ve gone from equations on a whiteboard to a physical machine,” says Zhou. “We’ve demonstrated that quantum effects can perform real mechanical work — cleanly and efficiently.”
Coherence, Scale, and Ethics
But before we get ahead of ourselves, the tech has miles to go.
Maintaining entanglement outside lab conditions remains a massive hurdle, especially at room temperature or over longer timescales. Quantum coherence — the property that makes these machines work — is easily disrupted by heat, vibration, or electromagnetic noise.
Scaling the technology from two ions to billions is another beast entirely. And there are ethical implications: If entanglement becomes the fuel of the future, who controls it? How will it reshape the global energy order?
The Quantum Future Is Coming
Despite the challenges, the writing is on the wall: Energy systems that once needed oil rigs, turbines, or electrolyzers may soon require lasers and entangled ions. And the ripple effects could shake the foundations of everything — from how we power cities to how we think about energy itself.
In a world increasingly constrained by climate and resource limitations, quantum engines offer a glimpse into a post-fuel future — one not powered by combustion, but by the fundamental rules of the universe itself.
