China’s Betavolt Develops Nuclear Batteries with 50-Year Operational Life

Beijing-based Betavolt New Energy Technology has developed a 3V nuclear battery that uses radioactive nickel-63 as the energy source and a diamond semiconductor as the energy converter.

Betavolt Chairman & CEO Zhang Wei said that the first product the company will launch will be BV100 – the world’s first mass-produced nuclear battery, which will be 15x15x5 millimetres – smaller than a coin. The 100 microwatt battery will have an expected life of 50 years.

These could have wide-ranging applications from logistics and supply chain operations to space exploration and medicine.

Betavolt says atomic batteries are a direct current power source, and can produce pulse power with a higher life by adding supercapacitors as energy storage devices.

Betavolt’s design is safe, non-explosive, and eco-friendly, with the decayed isotope converting to non-radioactive copper.

Atomic batteries, also known as nuclear batteries or radioisotope batteries, work on the energy released by the decay of nuclear isotopes absorbed into electrical energy through semiconductor converters.

The company aims to launch a 1-watt version by late 2025. This could be a game-changer for the world's long-term clean energy needs, offering 50 years of continuous, emissions free power.

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