Scientists invent battery which runs on atomic waste and promises ‘decades’ of power

Scientists have achieved a major milestone in energy storage after developing a nuclear battery that can convert atomic waste into electricity.

A team in the US has already tested the next-generation battery with a prototype device capable of harvesting enough nuclear radiation to power microchips.

Nuclear batteries have been hailed for their potential to generate electricity for decades without the need for charging or maintenance.

The breakthrough battery, built by researchers at Ohio State University, works by taking ambient gamma radiation from spent nuclear fuel and converting it to light via scintillator crystals. This light is then converted into electricity through solar cells.

“We’re harvesting something considered as waste and by nature, trying to turn it into treasure,” said Raymond Cao, a professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State University, who led the research.

The battery does not incorporate radioactive materials, meaning it is safe to touch, however it is not being developed for public use. Instead, the researchers said they envisioned the batteries being used on nuclear systems for space and deep sea exploration.

The technology is also being developed in China under the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan, with Beijing-based Betavolt saying last year that it is hoping to mass produce nuclear batteries for commercial applications like phones, drones and medical devices.

The working prototype built in Ohio, which is roughly the size of a sugar cube, is capable of producing 1.5 microwatts of power, though larger versions are expected to be able to produce significantly more electricity.

“These are breakthrough results in terms of power output,” said Ibrahim Oksuz, a research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State.

“This two-step process is still in its preliminary stages, but the next step involves generating greater watts with scale-up constructs.

“The nuclear battery concept is very promising. There’s still lots of room for improvement, but I believe in the future, this approach will carve an important space for itself in both the energy production and sensors industry.”

A study detailing the nuclear battery, titled ‘Scintillator based nuclear photovoltaic batteries for power generation at microwatts level’, was published in the journal Optical Materials: X.