New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (2024)

A US-based startup has combined radioactive isotopes from nuclear waste with ultra-slim layers of nanodiamonds to assemble a battery that will last up to 28,000 years.

And just for perspective, before this ridiculous battery runs out of juice, an average Indian would’ve died 400 times over (geez!); more than a thousand generations would’ve passed by; and Jaegers might have finally sliced the last of Kaijus--who knows, those monstrous machines would be powered by one of these things.

New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (1) NDB

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New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (2)

Diamond battery will be available by 2023

The Nano Diamond Battery (NDB) says that the radioactive battery is 'completely safe' for humans and it hopes to start selling the battery to commercial partners, including space agencies for long duration missions, within the next two years.

The company is also working on a consumer version of the battery that could power a smartphone or electric car for over a decade without a charge. This doesn’t just save the hassle of recharging our devices but also holds key to the environmental implications of the manufacture and disposal of batteries.

New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (3) Getty Images

The technology behind diamond battery

The battery is powered by radioactive waste graphite--used in graphite-cooled nuclear reactors--which is encased in layers of nano-thin, single crystalline diamond, which act both as a semiconductor and heat sink.

Each unit will contain a single crystalline diamond that absorbs energy from the isotopes. Now diamonds are rare and also have the highest energy-conductivity, meaning it quickly transfers heat from the radioactive graphite--and the transaction is so quick that it generates electricity.

New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (4) AFP

The diamond layers not only collect charge, but also prevent radiation leakage. NDB even claims that the radiation levels emitted by the cells will be less than those emitted by the human body.

The firm hasn’t produced the batteries yet but has a proof-of-concept design, called “Diamond Nuclear Voltaic,” which was presented in 2016 by scientists from the University of Bristol using waste graphite blocks.

New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste (2024)

FAQs

Which diamond battery powered by nuclear waste runs for 28000 years? ›

NDB's claim that the battery lasts 28,000 years is based, in part, on these low-power space applications. Voyager—NASA's iconic space probe, meant to study the outer solar system when it launched back in September 1977—used three “Multi-Hundred Watt Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators” (MHW-RTGs) for power.

What battery can last 28000 years? ›

Like the name suggests, a diamond battery lasts forever. Its effective life is more than 20,000 years or approximately 28,000 years. It is made out of nuclear waste.

What is the lifespan of a nuclear diamond battery? ›

New Diamond Battery Will Last 28,000 Years, Powered By Nuclear Waste. The short lifespan of conventional batteries means they either cannot be used or have significant drawbacks in situations where it is not feasible to charge or replace them.

Is the nuclear diamond battery real? ›

NDB, or Nano Diamond Battery, is an innovative energy generator and storage that redefines and revolutionizes the battery as we know it. Its long-lasting properties and longevity are ensured by converting the radioactive decay energy from nuclear waste into energy.

What company is responsible for the forever battery? ›

QuantumScape: The Company Solving the “Forever Battery” Challenges. While the theory behind solid-state batteries is super-exciting, the application of such next-generation batteries has been essentially non-existent to-date.

What is the forever battery technology? ›

In battery technology parlance, solid-state batteries (SSBs) are sometimes called “forever batteries.” That's because these batteries promise to far outlast traditionally technologies that rely on the electrochemical discharge of ionic solutions.

What is the longest lasting battery in the world? ›

In addition to setting a Guinness World Records title, Energizer® Ultimate Lithium™ AA batteries also hold power for up to 20 years in storage, perform in extreme temperatures from -40° F to 140°F, weigh 33 percent less than alkaline AA batteries, and are guaranteed leak-proof under standard use.

What is the longest lasting battery on earth? ›

With its ability to perform in extreme temperatures and last in storage for up to 20 years, Ultimate Lithium is the clear choice to dependably power the essential devices in your life.

Is there a forever battery? ›

Forever Battery: The Impossible Just Became Possible

Together, in 2010, they founded QuantumScape (QS) and set out to revolutionize the battery industry. Thirteen years later, they have achieved the impossible: a solid-state battery that actually works.

What are the disadvantages of diamond battery? ›

Since radioisotope decay is sustained by the material itself, there is no need for refuelling or recharging. The disadvantage of using these batteries is that their power density is lower than the chemical batteries, and these have low conversion efficiencies.

What is the stock name for nano diamond battery? ›

THE COMPANY: NDB Money, a company backed by Nano Diamond Battery (NDB, Inc.), a leading company in the development of nuclear batteries, develops a monetary reform that decouples monetary and credit functions.

Is there a new battery that never dies? ›

One of the two grants that GE and its partners were awarded is for the creation of what GE calls the IMMORTAL battery that stands for InterMetallic MORphogen Tailored Activity Lithium. That's the battery that will last virtually forever.

What is the holy grail of EV batteries? ›

Solid-state batteries were heralded as the "holy grail of batteries" — their solid-state core is the perfect complement to solid-state electronics — in the Technology Outlook 2030 report by market research firm DNV (Det Norske Veritas, which means "the Norwegian truth").

Is there really a million mile battery? ›

Dahn's Dalhousie lab reports that it has now cycled its experimental battery cell 13,000 times, which would allow a vehicle to travel 3.2 million to 3.7 million miles, depending on how many miles were driven per year, while retaining an astonishing 93% of its initial capacity.

Is the million mile battery real? ›

A team of researchers, led by Professor Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University, have developed and demonstrated batteries that can last four million miles (almost six million km).

How many years can nuclear waste run the US electricity grid? ›

The energy in nuclear waste could power the U.S. for 100 years, but the technology was never commercialized. There is enough energy in the nuclear waste in the United States to power the entire country for 100 years with clean energy, says Jess C. Gehin at the Idaho National Laboratory.

What is the oldest running nuclear power plant? ›

The average age of U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors that were operational as of December 31, 2021, was about 40 years. The oldest operating reactor is Nine Mile Point 1 in New York, which entered commercial service in December 1969.

How long does a uranium battery last? ›

It can recharge itself for eons with little to no detectable degradation over hundreds of years because to the radioactive waste that fills its innards. A single battery can theoretically be used for more than a thousand years without needing to be changed or recharged.

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