Able to be used for 50 years without charging, the nuclear batteries of the future will be amazing!

□ Li Chuanfu

On May 8, EMR, a well-known market research organization in the United States, released its latest market research report showing that the global nuclear battery market will continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% between 2024 and 2032. Nuclear batteries have become a hot topic among new energy power batteries.

A nuclear battery is a device that uses nuclear energy to directly convert into electrical energy. Nuclear batteries do not rely on chemical reactions, but use nuclear energy to directly convert into electrical energy. Nuclear fuel undergoes a nuclear reaction inside the battery, producing particles such as neutrons and protons. These particles move in the conductor inside the battery and collide with the electrons in the conductor, causing the electrons to move in a directional manner, thus forming an electric current.

The life of nuclear batteries is affected by many factors, including the radioactive elements used, battery design, and working environment. Different nuclear batteries use radioactive nuclides of different elements, and their lifespans will also vary. The life of a nuclear battery is closely related to the half-life of the radioactive nuclides. The longer the half-life, the longer the life of the battery. For example, the half-life of the radioactive element carbon-14 is about 5,700 years, so nuclear batteries using carbon-14 can theoretically be used for thousands of years. The energy density of nuclear batteries is affected by factors such as the energy release capacity of nuclear fuel, the design and materials of the battery. Compared with traditional chemical batteries, nuclear batteries have higher energy density, greater volume energy density and mass energy density, and can store up to 3,300 milliwatt-hours of energy in 1 gram of battery.

Compared with traditional nuclear reactors, nuclear batteries have the characteristics of small size, high energy density and low pollution. In recent years, nuclear batteries have made important breakthroughs in space exploration, civilian use and other fields.

Due to the complex space environment, the probe needs to work under harsh conditions such as low temperature and high radiation. Traditional solar cells cannot meet the needs. Nuclear batteries have high energy density and can provide stable power for probes in extreme environments. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe uses nuclear batteries, which enables it to spend the night on the lunar surface and complete related scientific experiments. In addition, the use of nuclear batteries can also reduce the demand for solar cells and reduce the weight and cost of the probe.

In the civilian field, nuclear batteries are used in portable devices such as mobile phones, notebooks and other electronic products, and in fixed devices such as base stations, data centers, etc. Compared with traditional lithium batteries, nuclear batteries have longer service life and lower maintenance costs.

On January 8 this year, Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. announced that it had developed a civilian-grade nuclear battery. This square battery, which is about the size of a coin, can provide stable power for 50 years without charging or maintenance, and can meet the power supply needs of aerospace, AI equipment, medical equipment, micro-electromechanical systems, advanced sensors, small drones, micro-robots, and other applications with long endurance and multiple scenarios.

In 2023, Russia's Trud newspaper reported that it had successfully developed a small nuclear battery with a power of up to 500 watts. This innovative energy device is compact and can work stably for decades without external energy supply. This means that users can use mobile phones, laptops and other devices powered by nuclear batteries without frequent charging.

As a power source, new energy vehicles use nuclear batteries to achieve long driving range and low energy costs. In terms of medical equipment, nuclear batteries can provide a stable and efficient power source to ensure the normal operation of medical equipment.

The research and development and application of nuclear batteries will bring about revolutionary changes in the energy field. With the advancement of technology and the growing demand for green energy, nuclear batteries are expected to be widely used in more fields, such as smartphones, electric vehicles, energy storage systems, etc. At the same time, the long life and environmental protection characteristics of nuclear batteries will help achieve sustainable development goals and alleviate environmental pollution and resource shortages. However, nuclear batteries also face some challenges, such as safety, radiation protection, and waste disposal. To ensure the reliability and safety of nuclear batteries, future research should focus on battery material improvements, nuclear reactor design optimization, and radiation protection measures.

(The author is an engineer at the Green Energy Industrial Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry)