News Chinese-developed nuclear battery has a 50-year lifespan — Betavolt BV100 built with Nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material

[Admin]

Chinese company Betavolt has announced an atomic energy battery for consumers, with a touted 50-year lifespan and which uses a diamond semiconductor material.

Chinese-developed nuclear battery has a 50-year lifespan — Betavolt BV100 built with Nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material : Read more

 

[abufrejoval]

Do they mention, which recyling bin to use on disposal?

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Dr3ams]

Next up? Fusion cores...for everything...including power armor.

 

[TJ Hooker]

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.

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.

 

[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.

 

[TheJniac]

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.

Even rubbing it on your eyes would do not do much. It would have to enter the bloodstream or digestive system to do anything.

 

[Gururu]

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.

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.

 

[bit_user]

Betavolt 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.

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]

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.

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.

 

[Tanakoi]

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.

You "breathe and eat" dozens of radioactive isotopes on a regular basis. Many foods are slightly radioactive (bananas and Brazil nuts are particularly potent), and if you live in a Rocky Mountain or New England state, you have a few kilograms of radioactive uranium, thorium, and radium in the topsoil of your own backyard. If you have granite countertops, try running a geiger counter over them sometime. And let's not forget the massive doses of cosmic radiation you receive if you live in a high-altitude city like Denver, or take cross-country jet flights.

 

[Gururu]

You "breathe and eat" dozens of radioactive isotopes on a regular basis. Many foods are slightly radioactive (bananas and Brazil nuts are particularly potent), and if you live in a Rocky Mountain or New England state, you have a few kilograms of radioactive uranium, thorium, and radium in the topsoil of your own backyard. If you have granite countertops, try running a geiger counter over them sometime. And let's not forget the massive doses of cosmic radiation you receive if you live in a high-altitude city like Denver, or take cross-country jet flights.

Well in one case, we are born into a world with risk and must thrive. In the other, an opportunist is converting our risk into capital.

 

[bit_user]

I can already imagine it.

Nuclear powered smartwatches, smart phones, tablets, laptops, consoles, TVs...

Smart watches would probably need a couple orders of magnitude more power.

These would be good for some type of sensor that's extremely difficult or expensive to reach, and might not be a good candidate for photovoltaic power. For all the things you listed, conventional battery technology is a better fit.

 

[TechLurker]

Eh, it's actually been long overdue. People have been wanting their nuclear AA or AAA battery for some years now, where battery technology has remained stagnant until relatively recently (as rechargeable Lithium slowly trickled down, more thanks to early Chinese no-names becoming popular and reliable enough).

It's only now that betavoltaics are becoming practical enough to actually make at scale. And while the charge rates are low in with nuclear diamond batteries, the real value is being able to embed them into regular battery systems and let nuclear batteries basically trickle charge the primary battery system, with some concepts imagining being able to ensure a driver could crawl a few miles an hour if otherwise drained, or ensuring that phones can still self-charge while powered off in disaster scenarios.

That being said, there was a time when nuclear-powered hearts were actually a thing, and despite the paranoia, none of the known plutonium pacemakers ever failed, with some outliving their hosts. Ironically, the only reasons development of those died in favor of lithium-powered ones was entirely due to $$$. They lasted forever, whereas regular pacemakers required a battery change or total replacement every 5-15 years, depending on the model, and also mandated visits to the doctor more often.

 

[bit_user]

Nickel-63's decay mode doesn't emit these.

Any idea where Nickel-63 comes from? Is it present in ordinary nickel deposits and simply extracted by some sorting process, or is there some other way to produce it? I'm mainly wondering how limited the supply might be. I suppose the answer would also hint at the cost of these cells.

 

[Ralston18]

I have only one question:

Would someone please describe and explain what is meant by a "nuclear/atomic battery" and how it works?

Please be aware that I reserve the right to ask more questions thereafter.

Thank you.

 

[zszabo]

Surely I am not the only one feeling rising vibes of nostalgia, reminiscing about blowing up active fission cores in abandoned and rusted out retro-futuristic automobile wrecks littering the decrepit, crumbling roads and highways of the Capital Wasteland and the Mojavi desert in Bethesda's and Obsidian's respective 2008 and 2010 releases of Fallout 3 (Metacritic's GOTY in 2008) and Fallout 3: New Vegas?

The detailed way in which the mushroom plume was animated following a core breach was a particularly nice touch; although I thought it was a bit unrealistic how just about every single wreck that you encountered seemed to contain a sealed and intact core—or, that the equivalent of a dirty bomb explosion would even produce such a characteristic plume, for that matter. The important thing was that it fit the theme and intent of the game, and therefore deserved some creative license—which was beautifully summarized in one of the radio DJs' memorable "Nuclear Winter Wonderland" juxtapositional comments.

 

[HowAboutTheHeat]

How much heat is produced?

If it produces significant amounts of heat, it might be an issue for phones and other compact devices. I don't think you can turn off radioactive decay. So the "battery" is likely to still produce heat whether you use the generated electricity or not.

Might be an added feature in cold places though...

 

[Amdlova]

It's only use is for power my Casio watch. And can't keep light power of screen

 

[bit_user]

How much heat is produced?

For an electrical power output of 0.1 mW, I'd sure hope it wouldn't throw off enough waste heat to be an issue.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Doubt we will ever see this in a smartphone unless the EU and USA mandate 20 year security update periods (which, sadly, they likely won't even mandate half that), solid state batteries that power over a day's intensive usage and charge fully in minutes will be sufficient.

And heck, even if they DID offer 20 year security updates, the OLED screen wouldn't last nearly that long without issues.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

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.

Actually high energy electrons can and do penetrate body tissue quite easily within the body, which is why it is used to destroy cancer cells that are most definitely deeper than a sheet of paper. all due respect, but boron doped concrete and lead is SOP in cancer treatment centers, I know because my company owns centers around the country. Your physics is not sound, otherwise you would know that beta decay electrons are classified as “moderately penetrating” to body tissue. And sufficient thickness of most materials can attenuate electron flux thus why concrete and lead are SOP, it stops all variants of cancer treatment energy sources. Which again supports my assertion that a nickel-63 battery for mobile applications is not feasible unless you want a brick of a phone. And Strontium-90 is even worse with electron energies of ~500KeV and would require more shielding weight . And btw, neutrons are still used for brain cancer as no other particle is FDA approved for this use.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

Any idea where Nickel-63 comes from? Is it present in ordinary nickel deposits and simply extracted by some sorting process, or is there some other way to produce it? I'm mainly wondering how limited the supply might be. I suppose the answer would also hint at the cost of these cells.

It is an artificial isotope as there is no known natural decay chain that creates it and it’s short half-life means if it ever was made naturally at some point, it disappeared very quickly in geologic time. I believe it is primarily made in a cyclotron, although it could be also be feasibly created relatively cheaply in a fertile bed surrounding a nuclear reactor where neutron bombardment from the core is absorbed by Nickel-62 creating Nickel-63. Then over time, the absorbed neutron will emit an electron thus converting the neutron into a proton, thus converting Nickel-63 into Copper-63 via negative beta decay. Basically over the 50 year lifetime of this battery, this negative beta decay will consume the majority of the nickel-63.