China has developed a nuclear battery capable of operating for thousands of years
Chinese scientists have unveiled a new-generation radioisotope battery that uses carbon-14 and a silicon carbide-based converter. The developers claim that the new battery is significantly more efficient than the previous model and could potentially last for thousands of years.
Radioisotope batteries generate electricity through the decay of a radioactive isotope.
Unlike conventional batteries, they do not require recharging, and their service life is determined by the isotope’s half-life, which can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years.
Such power sources are used in:
- spacecraft;
- remote environmental monitoring systems;
- medical implants that require long-term autonomous operation.
The new development, called “Qianjiyuan Tianshu,” was created by specialists at Northwest Normal University in collaboration with Gansu Zhulong Technology.
It is the successor to the Candle Dragon-I battery, introduced in 2024.
According to project leader Su Maogen, the researchers aimed to make the device:
- more compact;
- more powerful;
- more affordable to manufacture;
- entirely manufactured in China.
Although the proportion of radioactive material in the new battery is limited to 22%, its power output was increased by a factor of 2.6 without any loss of stability or voltage.
Key improvements include:
- the use of a more efficient radioactive source;
- a three-dimensional multilayer design that improves compactness;
- a Chinese-made silicon carbide converter;
- a power management microsystem;
- built-in sensors that enable the device to operate autonomously.
The new battery has a volume of 16.8 cubic centimeters and uses 129 millicuries of carbon-14.
Its main specifications:
- voltage — 2.06 V;
- current — 0.713 microamperes;
- maximum power — 1.13 microwatts.
Unlike traditional radioisotope batteries, which convert heat from radioactive decay into electricity, "Qianjiuyuan Tianshu" uses beta radiation directly to generate current through a silicon carbide semiconductor.
In terms of how it works, this technology resembles a solar panel, but instead of light, the energy source is beta particles produced during isotope decay.
Researchers have managed to reduce the battery’s size by 17% while increasing its power density by approximately 15 times.
Since the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, the theoretical operational lifespan of such a battery is also measured in millennia, opening up broad prospects for its use in the space, medical, and scientific fields.
This was reported by Interesting Engineering.
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