Chinese start-up, Betavolt New Energy Technology, has revealed a nuclear battery powerful enough to charge your smartphone for fifty years.
When the coin-sized power bank enters production, it will become the world’s first mass-produced atomic battery.
Measuring just 15 millimetres squared and 5 millimetres high, the tiny three-volt battery has 100 microwatts of power, putting out a reported 8.64 joules per day for an annual output of 3 153 joules.
The Beijing-based firm was established in 2021 and focuses primarily on atomic energy batteries, carbon nanotubes, supercapacitors and diamond superconductors.
Nuclear batteries have been in the scientific arena for more than 70 years, with early variations of the device generating power by converting the heat given off by decaying isotopes into electricity.
Betavolt’s spin on the technology uses ultra-thin, 10-micron single-crystal diamond semiconductors layered above and below a 2-micron-thick sheet of radioactive isotopes.
Sealed in an anti-radiation protective casing, the ‘BV100’ battery generates power when the isotope, in this instance, nickel-63, releases high-energy particles into the diamond semiconductor, producing an electric charge.
A diamond is one of the most efficient thermal conductors known to science. At room temperature, the prized substance has a thermal conductivity of roughly 2 000 watts per metre – nearly five times higher than copper or silver.
The modular nature of the BV100 design means each three-tier sandwich can be stacked to form a larger and more powerful battery.
The BV100 possesses an energy density ten times greater than lithium batteries and is capable of holding 3 300 megawatts per gram.
Because the design produces continuous charge instead of storing it as chemical-potential energy, the BV100 is far less prone to exploding or catching fire than lithium batteries, which have garnered a reputation for doing so in recent years.
Despite it containing a radioactive component, nickel-63 has a negligible impact on the environment – during the decaying process, the substance breaks down into copper-63, a naturally occurring, non-radioactive material.
The nuclear battery can power everything from drones, micro-robots, sensory devices and micro-mechanical systems, such as gyroscopes, accelerometers and microphones, according to a Betavolt press release.
The company claims it functions well in extreme conditions, and its protective covering makes it safe enough to power biomedical devices, including pacemakers and cochlear implants.
Betavolt chairman and CEO, Zhang Wei, said the company is preparing the BV100 for full-scale production soon, with a larger 1-watt version of the battery expected to enter production as soon as 2025.
If the Chinese start-up meets regulatory criteria, it could be the first battery to provide smartphones and drones with a lifelong power supply.
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newschinas-betavolt-develops-50-year-nuclear-battery-11439320
https://newatlas.com/energy/betavolt-diamond-nuclear-battery/
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/chinas-nuclear-battery-power-smartphone
