Thanks to Fusionrudy for posting a link to an article from the World Nuclear Association which discusses the work of a Chinese company called Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Company Ltd which has announced that it has developed a minature nuclear battery that uses beta decay to generate electricity.
https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-battery-Chinese-firm-aiming-for-mass-mark
From the article:
Betavolt said its nuclear batteries are modular and can be composed of dozens or hundreds of independent unit modules and can be used in series and parallel, so battery products of different sizes and capacities can be manufactured.
Betavolt says its batteries can meet the needs of long-lasting power supply in multiple scenarios such as aerospace, AI equipment, medical equipment, micro-electromechanical systems, advanced sensors, small drones and micro-robots. “If policies allow, atomic energy batteries can allow a mobile phone to never be charged, and drones that can only fly for 15 minutes can fly continuously,” it said.
Here’s a video by physicist Sabine Hossenfelder on the topic. She explains that there have been various efforts to develop nuclear batteries over the years, and that they are still being explored. The European Space Agency is now preparing a nuclear powered craft to travel to the moon.
