A Chinese startup called Betavolt has cooked up this itty-bitty nuclear battery – about the size of a little coin – which they claim can crank out electricity for 50 years straight, with no charging pit stops needed.
As the company leaps from development to the pilot stage, they're gearing up for full-scale production and a grand entrance into the market pretty soon.
How did they create it?
The Beijing-based company also claims that its nuclear battery is the world's first to successfully miniaturize atomic energy, fitting 63 nuclear isotopes into a module smaller than a coin.
The functionality of this battery relies on converting the energy released during the decay of isotopes into electricity, utilizing a process that was initially explored in the 20th century.
The company says they have achieved miniaturization, modularization, and cost-effectiveness in atomic energy batteries. In essence, Betavolt is asserting a breakthrough in making nuclear energy compact and potentially applicable for various practical uses.
World's first mass-produced nuclear battery
Zhang Wei, Chairman and CEO of Betavolt, said in a press release that the BV100 marks a groundbreaking achievement as the world's first mass-produced nuclear battery.
It has 100 microwatts of power, 3 volts (V) voltage, and a compact volume measuring 15 x 15 x 5 cubic millimeters – smaller than your average coin. According to Wei, these nuclear batteries continuously generate electricity, producing 8.64 joules daily and 3,153 joules annually.
These physical batteries boast an energy density over 10 times that of ternary lithium batteries and a capacity of storing 3,300 megawatts in just one gram without the risk of fire or explosion.
Ensuring a stable power generation, the battery claims to remain unaffected by harsh environments or varying loads, ensuring consistent performance between extreme temperatures of 120 degrees above zero and minus 60 degrees (the press release doesn't specify whether Celsius or Fahrenheit).
Safe for medical devices inside human bodies
The company also deems these batteries safe for medical devices within the human body, such as pacemakers and cochlear's, with no external radiation.
The potential for parallel and series use of multiple batteries opens up diverse applications.
Betavolt is also planning to launch a 1-watt battery by 2025, foreseeing a future where, if regulations allow, atomic batteries could power mobile phones indefinitely, transforming short-flight drones into continuous flyers, said Wei.
The achievement places China at the forefront of groundbreaking advancements in two high-tech domains – atomic energy batteries and fourth-generation diamond semiconductors.
The Betavolt batteries can meet the power supply demands in various long-range scenarios, from aerospace to AI equipment, medical devices, MEMS systems, advanced sensors, small drones, and micro-robots.
Notably, this development is positioned well ahead of European and American scientific research institutions and enterprises, said the company.
Originally published on Interesting Engineering : Original article