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Nuclear battery claimed to power small devices for 50 years without charging

[Credit: Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co.]

 

 

A Chinese company claims that its miniature atomic energy batteries can generate electricity stably and autonomously for 50 years without the need for charging or maintenance.

The product, which has entered the pilot stage and will be put into mass production, combines nickel-63 nuclear isotope decay technology and China's first diamond semiconductor (4th generation semiconductor) module to realize the miniaturization of atomic energy batteries. The company says the combination of these two advanced technologies puts it "way ahead of European and American scientific research institutions and enterprises" on the battery-development front.

In the long term, Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co. (Betavolt) is targeting applications in aerospace, AI equipment, medical equipment, MEMS systems, advanced sensors, small drones, and micro robots, to name a few.

Atomic energy batteries, also known as nuclear batteries or radioisotope batteries, work on the principle of using the energy released by the decay of nuclear isotopes and converting it into electrical energy through semiconductor converters. This was a high-tech field that the United States and the Soviet Union focused on in the 1960s. Currently, there are only thermonuclear batteries used in aerospace. This kind of battery is large in size and weight, has high internal temperatures, is expensive, and cannot be used by civilians.

Betavoltaic nuclear batteries have been developed using a completely different technological approach, generating electric current through the semiconductor transition of beta particles (electrons) emitted by the radioactive source nickel-63. To do this, Betavolt's team of scientists developed a unique single-crystal diamond semiconductor that is just 10 microns thick, placing a 2-micron-thick nickel-63 sheet between two diamond semiconductor converters. The decay energy of the radioactive source is converted into an electrical current, forming an independent unit.

[Credit: Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co.]

 

 

Nuclear batteries are modular and can be composed of dozens or hundreds of independent unit modules and can be used in series and parallel. Ultimately, battery products of different sizes and capacities can be manufactured.

Zhang Wei, chairman and CEO of Betavolt, said the first product the company will launch is BV100, which is the world's first nuclear battery to be mass produced. The power is 100 microwatts, the voltage is 3V, and the volume is 15 X 15 X 5 mm, smaller than a coin. This nuclear battery generates electricity every minute, 8.64 joules per day, and 3,153 joules per year. Multiple such batteries can be used in series and parallel. The company plans to launch a battery with a power of 1 W in 2025. When stacked and configured for specific uses, atomic energy batteries could allow for mobile phones that never need charging and drones that can fly continuously.

Betavolt says the energy density of its battery "is more than 10 times that of ternary lithium batteries."

An atomic energy battery such as this will not catch fire or explode, either, even when pierced or shot at with a gun. Another benefit is the power generation is stable and will not change due to harsh environments and loads. It can work normally within the range of 120 F to -60 F and experiences no self-discharge. The atomic energy battery developed by Betavolt has no external radiation and is suitable for use in medical devices such as pacemakers and artificial hearts in the human body. After the decay period, the radioactive source (nickel-63 isotope) becomes a stable isotope of copper, which is non-radioactive and does not pose any threat or pollution to the environment, so it does not require expensive recycling processes.

Currently, Betavolt has registered a patent in Beijing and is registering global PCT patents. The company plans to continue research on using isotopes such as strontium-90, promethium-147, and deuterium to develop atomic energy batteries with higher power and a service life of two to 30 years.

Betavolt is currently the only company in the world that can dope large-size diamond semiconductor materials, and high-efficiency diamond converters are a key to manufacturing nuclear batteries.

Do you think we will see small devices and even phones that never need charging in the next five to 10 years?

Source: Betavolt

Published January 2024

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