Betavolt in Beijing China is developing a thermonuclear battery, that measures just 15mm x 15mm x 1.5mm. Now while many of us might wince at the thought of a ‘nuclear device’ in our pocket, this one does store 3,300 megawatt hours. Betavolt claims its penny-size battery is ‘way ahead of European and American scientific research institutions and enterprises’. We visited the Twisted Sifter website to gauge whether or not this is true.
How Does the Betavolt Thermonuclear Battery Work?
Twisted Sifter describes how Betavolt’s BV100 thermonuclear battery takes energy from a decaying Nickel-63 radioactive-isotope. Princeton University Department of Public Safety confirms the isotope’s radioactive dose rate is negligible, and no shielding is necessary.
The BV100 battery design comprises sheets of Nickel-63 radio isotopes, with sheets of single-crystal diamond semiconductor between. This could be expensive, even though the latter is just 10-microns thick.
Betavolt’s claims its innovation has 10-times the energy storage density of lithium-ion. Plus it can deliver its power for up to 50 years without human intervention. “The battery produces no external radiation,’ it adds, ‘and won’t catch fire or explode in response to acupuncture and gunshots’.
Will the Betavolt Innovation Reach Consumer Markets?
That’s the eternal question with battery research like this. So far we have only seen practical thermonuclear battery power in aerospace applications. However, Betavolt apparently believes its new innovation can do more than that.
‘The company plans to launch a battery with a power of 1 watt in 2025,’ it promises. ‘If policies permit, then atomic energy batteries can mean a mobile phone never needs recharging. Drones that can only fly for 15 minutes currently, could fly continuously.” Just imagine that!
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