Cars could start running on magnets: Researchers have developed new magnetic levitation (maglev) technology that could eliminate the need for traditional engines and batteries in cars, The Financial Daily reported, citing a study by the Quantum Machine Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). The tech could help produce cars that can glide by using magnetic fields that propel vehicles without friction.

How does it work? OIST’s maglev system only requires energy at start-up to initiate the magnetic field. This allows vehicles made of diamagnetic materials — materials repelled by magnetic fields like graphite — to float above the track and move without further electrical or mechanical thrust. It also eliminates friction, allowing the car to move without engines, batteries, or other propulsion methods.

But there are challenges ahead: Challenges for scaling the technology for practical use include reducing kinetic energy at the surface level and preventing energy loss in the graphite immersed in the magnetic field. The material’s durability and efficiency also needs to be improved, along with developing infrastructure that can support the technology, the researchers concluded in the study.

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