Chinese Technology, Coin Batteries Make Your Cell Phone Never Have to Be Charged Forever

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A Chinese startup has developed a coin-sized, nuclear-powered battery that can be used for 50 years without having to be recharged.

Betavolt, a startup based in Beijing, stated that their batteries have the potential to become a new energy source for future cellphones.

The atomic-powered mini battery is called the BV100 and is claimed to be much more sophisticated than the technology developed by Europe and the United States.

The BV100 generates electricity from the radioactive energy of a nickel isotope (nickel-63). Between the layers of nickel-63, a single crystal diamond semiconductor with a thickness of 10 microns is embedded.

This battery can store 3,300 megawatt hours and reportedly has an energy density 10 times that of ordinary lithium batteries. According to Betavolt, this capacity means the BV100 can produce electricity stably for 50 years.

The official size of the BV100 is 15x15x15 millimeters with a power of 100 microwatts at a voltage of 3 volts. This means that the capacity is so small that it doesn't have enough energy for standard electronic equipment such as cellphones, let alone laptops.

Betavolt states that the solution is to use BV100 in parallel to support devices that require more electricity.

Even though it uses radioactive energy, Betavolt insists that its batteries are safe. They were so confident that they stated that BV100 could be used for medical devices such as heart pacemakers or artificial hearts.

The Chinese startup says there is no radiation coming out of the battery and insists the battery “will not catch fire or explode if punctured or shot.”

Currently, nuclear battery technology is used only in spacecraft. For example, the Voyager spacecraft uses nuclear batteries developed during the Cold War era. Even though it has been launched since 1977, Voyager still functions to send images from all corners of the Solar System to Earth.

“The company plans to launch a 1 watt battery in 2025. With the right regulations, atomic energy batteries can make cellphones that no longer need to be charged and drones, which previously could only fly for 15 minutes, can fly continuously,” explained Betavolt.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dem/dem)