Battery technology has seen rapid advancement in the last couple of decades to the point where we now have Sodium-ion cells in power banks. And while most modern cells now last a lot longer than they used to be, batteries that can last more than a decade on a single charge may sound like straight out of a science fiction movie.
But that may soon change. According to Popular Mechanics, a Chinese battery company named Betavolt recently revealed a compact coin-sized battery powered by nuclear energy. Named BV100, the battery uses Nickel-63 as its radioactive source and can last up to 50 years on a single charge.
While the energy output of the battery is relatively low and cannot charge smartphones or cameras, BV100 isn’t just a lab innovation. Betavolt is already mass producing the battery to power electronics like medical equipment and aerospace devices.
How does Betavolt’s BV100 nuclear powered battery work?
The Betavolt’s BV100 nuclear battery delivers a power output of 100 microwatts at 3 volts, with the company planning to launch a one-watt version sometime later this year that can be used in consumer electronics and extend a drone’s fly time.
Betavolt’s BV100 battery has two parts – a radioactive emitter and a semiconductor absorber. The emitter naturally decays over time, shooting high-speed electrons that hit the absorber. This phenomenon generates an “electron-hole” pair, which outputs a small but stable amount of usable electrical energy. To prevent the harmful beta particles from leaking, the company is using a thin sheet of aluminium.
While they don’t produce the same amount of energy as traditional batteries, the small amount of electric current can power electronics that don’t need much energy for up to a century or longer. Also, these nuclear batteries may not replace the ones in our smartphones, but they are perfect for things like planetary rovers, sensors deployed in sea and might even help pacemakers.
Are nuclear batteries better than chemical ones?
Compared to widely used Lithium-ion batteries, the BV 100 offers 10x more energy density and can easily withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -60 to +120 degree Celsius without catching fire or exploding. Betavolt says the BV100 is environmentally friendly, since the radioactive nickel-63 core used to power it eventually decays into stable copper, which also makes it cheaper to recycle than most chemical batteries.
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Betavolt’s BV100 marks a huge leap in battery technology as the pocket sized nuclear powered cell doesn’t require any maintenance. Also, the modular structure of the battery enables scalability, meaning one can easily combine several of these cells in series or parallel that can act as a big battery.
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