Chinese-developed nuclear battery has a 50-year lifespan — Betavolt BV100 built with Nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material
The design uses China’s first diamond semiconductor material.
Chinese company Betavolt has announced an atomic energy battery for consumers with a touted 50-year lifespan. The Betavolt BV100 will be the first product to launch using the firm’s new atomic battery technology, constructed using a nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material. Betavolt says its nuclear battery will target aerospace, AI devices, medical, MEMS systems, intelligent sensors, small drones, and robots – and may eventually mean manufacturers can sell smartphones that never need charging.
Buying an electronics product that can go without charging for 50 years would be amazing. But the BV100, which is in the pilot stage ahead of mass production, doesn’t offer a lot of power. This 15 x 15 x 5mm battery delivers 100 microwatts at 3 volts. The company says multiple BV100 batteries can be used together in series or parallel depending on device requirements, and Betavolt has plans to launch a 1-watt version of its atomic battery in 2025.
The new BV100 is claimed to be a disruptive product on two counts. Firstly, a safe miniature atomic battery with 50 years of maintenance-free stamina is a breakthrough. Secondly, Betavolt claims it is the only company in the world with the technology to dope large-size diamond semiconductor materials, as used by the BV100. The company is using its 4th gen diamond semiconductor material here.
In its press release, Betavolt says its atomic battery is very different from similarly described power cells developed by the US and USSR in the 1960s. It says that the old nuclear batteries were large, dangerous, hot, and expensive products. For example, some old-tech atomic batteries used Plutonium as the radioactive power source. Meanwhile, the Betavolt BV100 is claimed to be safe for consumers and won’t leak radiation even if subjected to gunshots or puncture.
The new, improved levels of safety stem from the choice of materials. Betavolt’s battery uses a nickel-63 isotope as the energy source, which decays to a stable isotope of copper. This, plus the diamond semiconductor material, helps the BV100 operate stably in environments ranging from -60 to 120 degrees Celsius, according to the firm. Betavolt boasts that this battery technology is “way ahead” of European and American academic and commercial institutions.
How does Betavolt make this battery? We’ve already mentioned the essential materials, but the above diagram provides an excellent overview. The BV100 is made by “placing a 2-micron-thick nickel-63 sheet between two diamond semiconductor converters.” This construction relies on Betavolt’s “unique single-crystal diamond semiconductor that is just 10 microns thick.”
So, the current BV100 or its 1-watt successor scheduled for next year may not sound so impressive regarding peak power output. Betavolt will be well aware of devices with a greater thirst for power and teases that it is investigating isotopes such as strontium-90, promethium-147, and deuterium to develop atomic energy batteries with higher power levels and even longer service lives – up to 230 years.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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The Historical Fidelity No thank you, Nickel-63 beta decays into Copper-63 releasing a high energy electron. The same type of high energy electrons I use in Cancer treatment, except I have 2 feet of boron doped concrete and lead in front of me when the electron beam is active (granted there is a huge difference in electron flux between what I use and the small amount in the battery, but I guess DNA damage and mutation is considered worth the risk for this company. And their idea to use strontium-90 in future models is simply insane. Strontium-90 is best known as a component of nuclear bomb fallout….This is just a bad idea for any device humans interact with.Reply -
pjmelect It is perfectly safe unless you break it up and eat it. the real problem is the amount of current it produces for its size.Reply -
TJ Hooker Reply
Nickel 63 beta emissions can only travel 5cm in air, and less than 10 microns in human tissue.The Historical Fidelity said:No thank you, Nickel-63 beta decays into Copper-63 releasing a high energy electron. The same type of high energy electrons I use in Cancer treatment, except I have 2 feet of boron doped concrete and lead in front of me when the electron beam is active (granted there is a huge difference in electron flux between what I use and the small amount in the battery, but I guess DNA damage and mutation is considered worth the risk for this company. And their idea to use strontium-90 in future models is simply insane. Strontium-90 is best known as a component of nuclear bomb fallout….This is just a bad idea for any device humans interact with.
https://ehs.princeton.edu/book/export/html/260
It poses no external hazard, unless you're rubbing it directly on your eyeballs.
https://ehs.oregonstate.edu/sites/ehs.oregonstate.edu/files/pdf/rso/data_sheet_ni63.pdf
As pjmelect said, it doesn't pose any threat unless you're ingesting the stuff. -
domih There is a 50+ years history about this technology. This article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaic_device has plenty of pointers about innovation and applications in this field.Reply -
TheJniac Reply
Even rubbing it on your eyes would do not do much. It would have to enter the bloodstream or digestive system to do anything.TJ Hooker said:Nickel 63 beta emissions can only travel 5cm in air, and less than 10 microns in human tissue.
https://ehs.princeton.edu/book/export/html/260
It poses no external hazard, unless you're rubbing it directly on your eyeballs.
https://ehs.oregonstate.edu/sites/ehs.oregonstate.edu/files/pdf/rso/data_sheet_ni63.pdf
As pjmelect said, it doesn't pose any threat unless you're ingesting the stuff. -
Gururu Reply
Is that why they recommend special precautions for working with it. And oh geez can’t be detected with a counter…. This sounds like an environmental disaster waiting to happen, since we breathe and eat almost anything we play with.TJ Hooker said:Nickel 63 beta emissions can only travel 5cm in air, and less than 10 microns in human tissue.
https://ehs.princeton.edu/book/export/html/260
It poses no external hazard, unless you're rubbing it directly on your eyeballs.
https://ehs.oregonstate.edu/sites/ehs.oregonstate.edu/files/pdf/rso/data_sheet_ni63.pdf
As pjmelect said, it doesn't pose any threat unless you're ingesting the stuff. -
bit_user ReplyBetavolt says that its nuclear battery will target aerospace, AI devices, medical, MEMS systems, intelligent sensors, small drones, and robots
If the idea is that you'd be able to power flight with it, 0.1 mW cannot possibly generate enough lift even to keep the battery aloft. Maybe the idea is to have a big capacitor that charges up, over some long period of time. If the drone only uses flight to reposition itself, then I can see how it might be enough - especially if you launch the drone with a full charge from some other power source.
Could be useful for self-positioning sensors. -
trigramthunder I can already imagine it.Reply
Nuclear powered smartwatches, smart phones, tablets, laptops, consoles, TVs...
Bring it on.
Fear mongering is pointless, what concerns us here is the advancement of civilization for the benefit of the human race. -
Tanakoi Reply
Quite a few basic errors in the physics here. "High energy electrons" are beta decay, and are stopped by a single sheet of paper. Your "boron-doped concrete" is for absorbing neutrons or protons, while the lead absorbs gamma (and x-rays) -- but Nickel-63's decay mode doesn't emit these. Beam therapy for cancer treatment can be photons (x-rays), electrons, or protons ... that's why composite shielding is used.The Historical Fidelity said:No thank you, Nickel-63 beta decays into Copper-63 releasing a high energy electron. The same type of high energy electrons I use in Cancer treatment, except I have 2 feet of boron doped concrete and lead in front of me.