Chinese scientists at Betavolt have built a nuclear battery smaller than a coin that needs charging only once in 50 years.
If approved for use in devices future generations would ultimately do not need to ever charge. Imagine drones, phones, laptops and appliances with a lifetime supply of power. The battery will be the first of its kind available for general purchase.
Because of advantages like high energy density, long service life, strong anti-interference ability, small size, lightweight, easy miniaturization, and integration, Betavolt batteries have become a research hotspot in the field of micro energy.
Nuclear batteries may sound like something super-advanced, but they’ve been around in one form or another since the early 1950s. Most of these are what are called radio-thermal generators, which turn the heat from decaying radioactive elements into electricity.
Betavolt’s new battery, called the BV100, uses two single-crystal diamond semiconductor layers with a thickness of 10 microns. Each one of these sandwiches can produce current, but they can also be stacked or linked like old-fashioned voltaic cells to form hundreds of independent unit modules that work together to boost the current.
The whole thing is sealed in a protective case to shield against radiation exposure and to protect the battery against physical damage. The BV100 can produce 100 microwatts at 3 volts and measures 15 x 15 x 5 mm. Betavolt estimates that such batteries could one day power a mobile phone so it never needs recharging or keep a small drone in the air indefinitely.
According to Betavolt, the BV100 is in pilot production with an eye on mass production next year. A larger one-watt version is expected in 2025. The energy density of the BV100 is rated at 10 times that of lithium batteries and is not prone to fire or explosions. Since it generates electricity rather than stores it in the form of chemical reactions, it is not subject to recharging cycle problems. The ⁶³Ni eventually decays into non-radioactive copper that poses a minimal environmental risk.
Experts, however, are skeptic of how much power the battery can generate.
Experts say that its size means it contains relatively little radioisotope and it produces just 0.01% of the electricity required. The battery is within the range for a pacemaker or perhaps a passive wireless sensor. They say in its current form, it just doesn’t have enough power to run a cell phone,
To date, the low energy conversion efficiencies and technological limitations of betavolt batteries have impeded their further application. Details about the cost of the battery remain undetermined.
