Abstract
To take quantum advantage of collective effects in many-body system, we design an elementary block for building multipartite quantum battery, which enables charging an atomic ensemble with optimal numbers in a common thermal bath. One achieves maximum free energy as the stored energy in the steady state, which is prior to each atom parallel charging independently. It ascribes to quantum collective effects in the ensemble of atoms induced by the competition between the coherent driving and decoherent dissipation. The corresponding thermodynamic efficiency of the energy storage is analyzed. The existence of the optimal elementary units of multipartite quantum battery provide a guideline for designing a realizable charging scheme.