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NanoTritium batteries
NanoTritium batteries are ultra-low-power, long-life betavoltaic devices developed by City Labs, Inc. These nanowatt-to-microwatt batteries utilize the natural decay of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to generate continuous power for over 20 years.[1] HistoryThe first NanoTritium battery prototypes were developed in 2008 for encryption security memory backup power by City Labs, Inc., a regulatory-licensed R&D and manufacturing facility located in Miami, Florida.[2] The company originated at Florida International University in 2003 as part of the Office of Entrepreneurial Science founded by current City Labs CEO, Peter Cabauy.[3] The company was eventually joined by Larry C. Olsen, founder of Betacel, who served as Director of Research.[4] NanoTritium batteries were released commercially in 2012.[5] This marked the first time tritium batteries could be purchased without requiring a radiation license.[6] To date, this is the only General License granted to the betavoltaic industry.[7] TechnologyNanoTritium batteries employ principles of betavoltaic conversion and radioactive beta decay rather than conventional electrochemical cells to generate power, harnessing electrons released as the contained tritium naturally decays into helium-3, a non-radioactive isotope.[8] Current models are capable of producing an output voltage of 0.8 to 1.1 V with a current density of 150 nA/cm2.[9] Tritium's 12.32-year half-life and the relatively low amount of radiation emitted allow these batteries to safely output electrical power for decades.[10] Testing performed by Lockheed Martin during an industry-wide survey found NanoTritium batteries to be resistant to vibration, altitude, and temperatures ranging from -55°C to +150°C.[11] Repeated temperature cycling has been shown to have no effect on the performance of the batteries.[12] While current P100 series NanoTritium batteries are limited to powering low-power microelectronic devices, future batteries are expected to produce a larger power output to expand use cases for higher-power devices.[1] ApplicationsNanoTritium batteries have been employed for various applications where accessibility is limited and long-term power is beneficial, including powering components on COMSEC devices, satellites, unattended sensors, and implantable medical devices.[13] Despite containing radioactive materials, the batteries are considered safe for implants due to their engineering and inherently low radiation levels, which prevent an individual from receiving a dose higher than the set 15 rem whole body limit even in the event of catastrophic failure.[14] City Labs is also designing tritium-powered devices for NASA applications, including autonomous sensors for the Moon.[15][16] References
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