A nuclear battery is a device that gets its power from radioactive decay. They are able to last much longer compared to normal batteries. They get their energy from the decay or radioactive particles.
A Chinese start up company has made a nuclear battery that can run for 50 years without the need of being charged. The company plans to make more of them to use for other equipment. The battery’s small size makes it able to be used with lots of small objects like phones.
A different company that’s in California claims that they made a successful nuclear battery that has an efficiency of more than 60%, which is the highest efficiency so far. The company claims that this nuclear battery can generate 10’s of milliwatts of battery for over 100 years. They plan for the battery to be used for medical power, deep sea power, space power, and more.
Nuclear batteries have been studied across the globe from regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. China has been developing and studying nuclear batteries the most because of demand. The European Energy Research Alliance is trying to spread awareness and the production of Nuclear Batteries across Europe.
Nuclear batteries in the past have been used for things like space and arctic lighthouses, since it can be very hard to change a battery in those circumstances. Companies are trying to expand the usage to use in everyday items. Even though these seem very useful to have in the future, there are some disadvantages with them, like how they have very low power density. It will also be hard to manufacture lots of them due to material supply and how some people might be scared of radioactive usage being public.
Related Stories:
- https://citylabs.net/technology-overview/nuclear-battery-technology/
- https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/nuclear-battery-betavolt-atomic-china-b2476979.html
- https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-company-claims-nuclear-battery-breakthrough
- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/nuclear-battery-market-104942
- https://www.cas.org/resources/cas-insights/nuclear-power-your-pocket-50-year-battery-innovation
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