A Chinese startup has developed a tiny 50 year life diamond nuclear battery that's going to change the world! Yeah, nah. Same old betavoltaic, same old limitations, and same old startup marketing hype.
Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
https://www.betavolt.tech
https://www.betavolt.tech/359485-359485_645066.html
https://www.betavolt.tech/cp_531390.html
https://newatlas.com/energy/betavolt-diamond-nuclear-battery/
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newschinas-betavolt-develops-50-year-nuclear-battery-11439320
https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-battery-Chinese-firm-aiming-for-mass-mark
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/16/WS65a68ff7a3105f21a507c9b7.html
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2024/01/20240114-betavolt.html
https://www.batterypowertips.com/betavolt-achieves-miniaturization-of-atomic-batteries-with-50-year-autonomy/
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/chinas-nuclear-battery-can-power-mobile-phones/
https://www.thediplomaticaffairs.com/2024/01/13/the-dawn-of-nuclear-batteries-and-the-potential-reshaping-of-the-global-economy/
https://phys.org/news/2018-06-prototype-nuclear-battery-power.html
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cabot-institute-2018/documents/Diamond_battery_FAQs_Nov_2016.pdf
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cabot-institute-2018/documents/Diamond_battery_FAQs_Nov_2016.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_battery
Isotope Cost: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1348/1/012086/pdf #:~:text=At%20this%20moment%2C%201%20gram,62%20inside%20a%20nuclear%20reactor.
Nuclear Diamond Battery Debunked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzV_uzSTCTM
Nuclear Diamond Battery FRAUD!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M5MF6KE-jY
Mailbag with Nuclear Tritium battery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNQCaSNIrEM
Casio calculator test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo0mizb3CE8
Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1595-50-year-chinese-nuclear-diamond-battery!/
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#ElectronicsCreators #Nuclear #Battery

Hi, yes, it's Bea Voltaic Battery. Time again, Tech journalist, can you please stop getting excited about this sort of stuff? It's just absolute rubbish. Headlines everywhere. everyone flooded my inbox with links to this Beol says it's Diamond Nuclear Battery can power devices for 50 years.

Look at this thing. Oh it's fantastic. China's Be Vault Develops 50-year nuclear battery nuclear battery Chinese Firm aiming for Market Production Bolt successfully develops Atomic Energy battery for civilian use. a Chinese company unveils a revolutionary nuclear battery with 50-year lifespan.

China based Beav Vault develops nuclear battery for commercial applications Beav Vault achieves minorization of atomic batteries for 50-year autonomy. China's nuclear drone can fly forever without needing to land or power up Beijing Startup claims the dawn of nuclear batteries and the potential reshaping of of the global economy. What's that you can smell in the headlines? Yeah, where have we seen Bea Volic before? Oh, that's right. on the evev blog debunked this thing.

three years ago, the nuclear Diamond battery and just two months ago, well it turns out the Securities and Exchange Commission just uh sued that company because uh, they were fraudulent and they admitted it and well, apparently. um, yeah, that's Gonsky. So the half for that company is not as good as their nuclear diaper battery that's for sure. And even seven years ago I did this mailbag video which I linked in looking at a uh Nuclear Tridium battery which uses a tridium source.

You can buy these little uh things on eBay and you put Soul cells top and bottom and you can generate a couple of microwatts. This one was sent in by a fellow YouTuber Nerd rage and I saw if I could power like a little low power Casio calculator with it and no it couldn't That requires like an order of magnet more power. But anyway, Beer Voltaic batteries are of course a real thing. You've been able to buy them for a long time, but not really for cheap commercial applications.

A company called City Labs here. They have been selling them for a long time and they sell a 100 microwatt uh unit here and it's maybe a little bit bigger than this new uh Chinese one, but it's uh, 2.4 volts at 52 microamps here. so not quite as good as this one that this new Chinese company, uh, startup is claiming which is three volts at 100 microwatts for 50 years. But yeah, these are a real thing.

You've been able to buy them for decades, so let's have a quick look at the claims here. So I'll link in the Articles if you want to uh see them and it just basically rehashes uh, all of the latest press release which we'll take a look at. um. in 2016, a new principle was introduced which uses Diamond layers dope with radioactive isotopes.

In the case of the first attempt, carbon 14, the idea is to select an isotope that releases beta particles which are essentially high energy highspeed electrons and positrons. When these are released, the diamond Matrix acts as a semiconductor to generate an electric current and that's what these things are. They're basically Um they've got. In this particular case, they use an isotope of Nickel Uh 63 here and and they have basically Um diode sheets in there.
So like there's got shows like maybe three Dodes in here in series or something or however many they need to get up to the Uh 3 volts required. It's basically a low power shocky Diode using the beta radiation released Um from the isotope in here of Um Nickel 63 in here and you sandwich them all together. So it's called the BV 100 and uses single crystal diamond semiconductor layer with the thickness of 10 microns each sandwich between a two Micron layer of Uh Nickel 63 each. One of these sandwiches can produce current.

They also can be stacked or linked like oldfashioned Voltaic cells to for hundreds of independent units that can work together to boost the current. So what this is is basically a low power shocky diode that generates a current when the Uh radiation from the Nickel 63 isotope Um hits it. and you've got to. From my understanding, you've got to have like a really pure like diamond semiconductor structure.

Any IM impurities or anything else in there really screws it up and drops the eff efficiency drastically. So I don't know how many layers they have in here. This is just like a rendering I Don't think it's actually three layers like that? You wouldn't get the Uh voltage actually required in that particular case. but I don't know there might be.

You know, dozens and dozens of layers inside this thing. And you can get a 3v 100 microa battery and that's their claim. And I don't doubt it. And they claim it can produce a 100 microwatts at 3 volts and presumably lasts for 50 years I don't know about the Uh characteristic response of it and how it drops off, how it drops off at the end of the 50 years cuz it's a halflife basically.

so I don't know it drops by half and we don't know cuz the company doesn't release any characteristic data on this or prototype photos or anything and according to the company, it's in Pilot production. With an eye on mass production, a larger one watt version is expected in 2025. Yeah, if the 100 micro version is 15 mm x 15 mm x 5 mm, how big is the 1 watt version going to be? Unless they can radically change their technology and miniaturize it even further by orders of magnitude. Nah, this mythical one wat battery they may release in 2025.

Yeah, no, it's going to be massive, even if they could do it. So like I said, you've been able to buy these batteries basically a 100 microwatt be voltaic battery from Citys You've been able to buy them forever and they don't release characteristic curves for these. But once again, it'd be like a halflife thing. And these ones actually use tridium uh instead of the nickel um isotope.
Uh, just like I did I use these tridium vials over here and tried to power my calculator with it. but I only got a microwatt and because so it used uses a phosphor material like this. so they got losses there and then you got to convert the light from the Uh phosphor using Amorphus solar cells on top. So it uses a traditional solar cell approach.

but and you you can do it. But I only got like a microwatt two microwatts out of the thing, so wasn't that great. So nuclear batteries like this actually come in three different types: alpha, beta and Gamma named after the radiation that they actually produce. and the alpha ones actually produce uh, helium uh atoms so emit helium atoms and the beta voltes like we're talking about here, they actually release electrons.

Hence why you can use PN semiconductor Junctions to actually uh, do this. You can do this yourself. Just break apart one of those ionizing smoke alarms and put it next to a large Dy uh transistor. Put the emitter right on top of it and you might get a couple of microwatts out of the thing.

and Bingo! You've got a uh be a voltaic Uh battery with a transistor and a smoke alarm ionizing uh source. And and that's why, because they release electrons like this. That's why you can get these tridium vials like this. and they have a phosphor coding on the outside because the tridium is a B emitter.

so when the electrons hit the phosphor like this, they glow just like your regular uh CRT and then you can convert that using a Uh solar cell and the third type is a gamma emitter which releases Uh photons. And there's others like radioisotope thermal generators for example that actually uh convert using heat. So they use a Pelia device and they're used in The Voyage of space probes and other you know, space probes and Landers out there. they use these basically a nuclear Uh battery, but it just uses thermal whereas this particular one uses a semiconductor Junction made out of a diamond Type U material in there because it's more betterer and there's just all those different ways to create one of these nuclear batteries.

But these Bea voltaics. Yeah, been around for donkeys years. Nothing new here there. nothing to write home to your mom.

about 100 microwatts can already buy one, but this one, if you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it. It's why they they put prices on their website and you probably can't buy them buying onesies. twosies. and this one's 100 mm by 38.

So this new beat of Voltaic one from this Chinese startup. If you could buy it because you can't buy it, they're just in like uh, the Proto like the pilot production phase. And let's check out their website here. It's actually uh, Bolt.

Tech So it's actually uh Beijing Beol Tech technology is the uh name of the country. I'll link it in down below and um, they make shocky diodes. go figure and they make diamond semiconductor. uh, converters.
and um, here's where everyone got the uh, the infographic from here and this is basically the best um, technical data they got on the website. There's no data sheet, there's no characteristic curves, there's no photos of prototypes, there's no anything. but if you can find something, link it in down below. I Have not been able to find anything in relation to this and they reckon the energy density is 10 times more than tary lithium batteries.

It can store 33 3,300 megawatt hours. That's density. So yeah, I am your density I'm your density. So what's the energy density of this thing? Well, 100 microwatts output at 3 volts which is the same as a lithium coin cell times 24 hours? That's 2.4 mwatt hours.

Uh, for a daytimes 365 days a year, that's 876 wat hours for the year. Multiply by 50 years. you're talking 43.8 wat hours for a 50-year life. And well, that's not too shabby.

Of course you know in theory, right? and assuming it's a flat response and everything else, which we don't know, but let's just assume it is. Um, you know these things have reasonable energy density and if they can make this cheaply and sell it cheaply uh to the consumer commercial uh market then it has some Niche applications. but it's still only 100 microwatt And the thing is, how does this compare to a just a a CR 2032 or CR 2050 which would be equivalent size of this thing roughly because a CR 2050 battery like this is 20 mm diameter by 5 mm thick. That's what the 20 means is the diameter and the thickness is 5.0 mm like that.

So it's basically the same density and uh, what's the density of a Cr2050 lithium coins primary coin cell battery? Well at 3 volts at 350 milahs, it's round about 1w capacity. And of course we know that you can buy for example, a Casio watch really low power jobby that can run off one of these coin sales. Even a smaller version of this with less energy density can run for 10 years. Basically the shelf life of the batteries.

Okay, so one of these nuclear Diamond batteries might have a 100 times the in theory 100 times the energy density of a coin cell like this. assuming that your product that you're putting it in last 50 years, when was the last time you had a product that last 50 years? Maybe you know an old HP calculator you still got going after you know it's on the original uh set of silver oxide batteries after 30 40 Years. or something like that, Maybe. But you know? Yeah, Okay, but once again, it depends on the price of this thing and whether or not they can actually produce it.

They have not even produced. You can't buy it, you can't get the data sheet. But of course, this is all just traditional startup hype. Every startup does this.

they uh, produce a press release like this and then they, uh, give it to a lot of these uh, you know, marketing agencies, These press release agencies which then gives it out to the wider market, and then all of these blogs and everything else and every uh, you know wannabe Tech website on the planet actually, uh, picks up this thing and runs with it. and oh, this is marvelous disrupting technology even though well, no, it's not on the market yet. No, there's no technical detail on their website apart from their press release uh, claims, and who knows how far they're out from uh, production on this thing. There's no pricing information whatsoever and it's like Yena Yena.
Okay, and it's only got limited applications in certain Niche Like I said, a one watt version of this. That would be really cool. You could run a small little, uh, you know, drone or something forever in theory if you had one watt output power. but how big is the battery? When this thing's 15x 15 mm, it's 100 microwatt.

You're talking the one watt version being 10,000 times the size and weight of this thing. if the energy density stays the same which of course it will be unless they've got some magic new uh, processed technology that's orders and Orders of magnitude more than what this one is. and this one's not even on the market yet. It's just ridiculous.

And of course the company has to whack AI onto its like front page here because well, that's the wank word of this decade, isn't it? Ai And um, yeah, so they're into like they make shocky diodes as well, but looks of it. Diamond Semiconductor Converter They're into carbon nanot tubes. You know every startup has to have carbon nanot tubes and it has to have Electro Chemical Super Capacitors Does it use graphine? Does it use graphine? Let's have a look. No, no mention of Graphine.

I'm shocked. Um, allows the production of Sue capacitors with capacitors up to 10,000 fads. Uh, could enable the next generation of energy storage devices. So yeah, they're into all these sorts of things.

Jack Of all trade masters of none, they're hoping that one of their Technologies here hits it off. they're into micro scalples. What's that? Diamond scales? Okay, cuz they're used to using. you know they got processed technology for creating these di Wafers which I'm sure this is all totally legit.

So they got oh we can spun off Diamond scalpel so it looks like they're just trying to spin off like a bunch of stuff hoping that they they hit it big and you know, look okay, right? they might have something here with this nuclear uh Diamond battery if they can actually produce it. But once again, as always I won't believe it unless I can buy it on Digi key or Mousa you know, No, no, it's just, it's all just hype. They're only in the pilot production phase and there's no technical data whatsoever. so just write this one off just like all the others until you can actually buy it.

So yeah, in theory it might have like 50 to 100 times more the energy density than a CR250 coin sell like this, but over the span of a year it's only about 2.6 times. uh, more. So if your product lasts for you know, a year or five years or something like that, then because your product might not last longer than that for some uh particular reason I mean there's just not that many applications out there for a 50-year battery, it's not. It's nice if you can get it.
Yeah, like if this thing comes out for like a couple of bucks even. you know, tens of dollars or something like that. Like yeah, okay, we got something. but yeah, call me when that actually happens.

Until then, it's just a startup company with a press release and a lot of wanky marketing and no technical data or any other prototype or production information behind this thing at all. And the claims of like oh yeah, we're going to produce a one watt version because when you read these press releases, they make you think that they're going to produce a one wat version like in only a couple of years in the same size. No, it's not going to be cuz the processed technology is finite that they've got so it like it's going to be like 10,000 times bigger than this. Maybe if they refine their process technology by an order of magnitude, an order of magnitude in any processed technology is y right.

Even if they did that okay, it's still a thousand times bigger than this for a onew version. So come on, be realistic. So that's always the problem with these sort of startup press releases. They go mad.

they've got oh new fodo for a new article and this is going to re solutionize everything and without knowing that no, well you can already buy these things and well, okay, maybe they might be a bit cheaper in the future, but it's still the same. Niche Um, application for these things Really? So that's a Y. So please tech journalist, just stop getting all excited over this sort of thing and think about it. It just it never ends.

it never ends. I Could do a video every week or almost every day about a new tech product release Tak a press release and running with it as if it's going to change the world. It's not, it's just no. Okay, so okay, good luck to Beijing Beav Vault Technology I Hope it comes out.

Send me a sample, send me a sample and I'll test it. Go for it please. So yeah n this is not going to change the world. Call me when you can buy it for a couple of bucks.

Until then, I'll keep using my primary Lithium sales in my uh, low power products. Thank you very much So if you enjoyed that video, please give it a big thumbs up. And as always ways you discuss down below if you got any other technical information on this um please yeah, leave it Link in down below and hey be Vault Please send me a sample because I' I' seriously I would love to test it but only when you've actually entered like production and you can actually buy these things cuz that's all that counts. Otherwise it's just yet another startup press release.
Catch you next time.

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By YTB

27 thoughts on “Eevblog 1595 – 50 year chinese nuclear diamond battery!”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @vytautasslenderis2702 says:

    yea, a guy in my country recently announced he applied for a patent on his "device" (some sort of plumb which "produces" energy by swinging in some soft of mechanism). This was widely advertised on the news in my country. I am stunned how some still do not understand. Humans are not able to produce energy. They can only change it from one form into another (wind, solar, nuclear, etc., into another form, such as electricity). But we are not CREATORS. We will never be able to "create" energy out of nothing.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @ramiroaka9 says:

    But it has to work

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @swirlingbrain says:

    The unrealistic hope from journalists is that we'll power our power-hungry phones and all our favorite power hungry devices for 50 years with this micro watt thing. Imagine powering a refrigerator, an EV, or a house with this battery for 50 years!!!! right. Journalists are simply brilliant and most be powered by such a nuclear battery!

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @KrotowX says:

    I extended my English knowledge with a "wank word" at today. And already see where I can use it. Thanks, Dave ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @imad1996 says:

    Journalism, unfortunately, is about getting attention, clicks, and revenue. Nothing else matters.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @listerdave1240 says:

    These would make sense to use instead of lithium batteries for CMOS RAM backup, or at least would have been in the past as I'm not sure battery backed up NVRAM is still a thing nowadays. Makes me wonder if my 35 year or so old 11802 scope has something like that as it still remembers it's state and keeps the time, though it could be of course that the previous owner changed the battery at some time. If so I'm sure it will be mentioned somewhere in the documentation. Meanwhile I have several much younger instruments that have failed memory batteries which I need to replace when I find the time.

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @RobbieHatley says:

    My small tablet computer requires 10 Watts of power to run. Let's do the math… 10W/100ยตW = 100,000 batteries. Price per battery = $500. Cost to power 10W tablet using Betavolt BV100 batteries = $50,000,000.00. Or, I can do the same thing with a lithium battery pack for about $10, which is about 5 million times more cost-effective. ๐Ÿ™„

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @trolslovenski says:

    The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @marekgaachbdg5062 says:

    breaking/burning this thing will create radioactive dust, which if it will get to your lungs it is deadly

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @trolslovenski says:

    Oh cmon……..
    Riding the antichina hype train?
    You also?
    Thats deplorable.
    I bet if your so loved Tesla would publish the news…you would be hyped af, jumping in the air and saying you cant wait to ship,right?

    Do you know that feeling of your own supremacy and ignorance can lead you to your own grave and demise?

    Well, I am giving you an advice to be less ignorant.

    You are on an island man. Isolated af.
    What happens when your "queen" and uncle Sam ignores you when you need help?

    Call Elon…he will sure help you.

    How much did ausie/AUKUS government paid you to missinformate like this?

    Just get lost with that biased AF crap๐Ÿ–•

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @johnsamu says:

    It's about securing SECURING SUBSIDIES (local and governmental) and upping shares.
    It's a game as old as the stone age when Fred Flintstone invented the first "everlasting" stone axe ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @m.junaidmahmood4209 says:

    Dave just because you failed in your own research in nano carbon AI graphene tesla SuperAI ChatGPT batteries, you are defaming others which succeeded.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Colaholiker says:

    "AI is the wank-word of the decade" – Dave, you seriously made my day! I want that printed on a shirt! ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Gunbudder says:

    we need to go back to revisit the USSR plan to put little RTG's all over the place and people can just hook up for free power until the RTG dies out eventually. although that plan did kill a ton of people in the USSR, so maybe not lol

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @DanBee123 says:

    This guy thinks he's so smart. Ironman already has one of these batteries

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @bollockszz says:

    chinese shite,as always.

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Kw1161 says:

    Maybe they sell their batteries to the solar train track companiesโ€ฆ๐Ÿ˜‚โ€ฆor I can put a capacitor across the output of my crystal radio setโ€ฆ๐Ÿ˜Š!
    P.T. Barnum was rightโ€ฆโ€A sucker born every minuteโ€ฆ.โ€
    Have a great day!

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @MrBenenator says:

    Good to know that our universe's post-nuclear-apocalypse's Fission Batteries will be far heavier even compared to what Bethesda depicted. And not produce anything near enough to recharge the batteries for energy weapons. ๐Ÿ™‚

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Slikx666 says:

    How many medical issues does it cure?

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @bobvines00 says:

    Dave, with your Lab and its toys, could you test these things and create the missing characteristic curves?

  21. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @lmwlmw4468 says:

    Damn, that's a real powerhouse…!!!๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ˜‚…..

  22. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @offiz says:

    an aussie bloke bitchiing away… talks more than actual doing. hahahahaha

  23. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @DeanWilliams1987 says:

    that is their job thought…

  24. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Falney says:

    TNT (Thinking and Tinkering) Built one in his video the other day using the Amaricium from a smoke detector.

  25. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @Patrick_AUBRY says:

    The tech is at least debatable…

  26. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @5erTurbo says:

    Chinese propaganda to attract investors

  27. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars @ThinkingBetter says:

    No, this topic is not about energy density. It's about POWER DENSITY. You can actually easily calculate the theoretical maximum power for a particular isotope. For example, Carbon 14 has an isotopic POWER DENSITY (due to the natural radioactive decay) of 0.001305 Watts per gram. If you want to produce 1 Watt with this isotope and you can capture 20% of the radioactive power into electricity, your battery will have a weight of 1/(20%x0.001305) = approx. 4kg of carbon 14. But you need additional material to capture the beta radiation into electricity, so the weight is factors more and you will need to hire someone to carry your mobile phone battery hahaha.
    Unfortunately for this entire idea you need to use a highly radioactive isotope to get better power density. For example, the Voyager battery is using Plutonium 238 (power density of 0.57 Watts per gram) but you end up with an extremely expensive battery costing millions of Dollars and also being extremely dangerous. The Voyager battery MHW-RTG outputs 160 Watts of electricity out of 2400 Watts of PU238 generated heat with a weight of approx. 60kg. 160 Watts is same as 160/746=0.2 Horse Power. So for millions of Dollars and 60kg of weight, you get 0.2 Horse Power. So how many do you need of these to power an EV? You could consider using it for charging a standard EV battery of 100kWh. In such case you will need 100,000/160 = 625 hours (26 days) to charge the battery. And the car would be a total nightmare of nuclear radiation risks besides costing millions of Dollars in radioactive isotopes. I'll keep my Tesla ๐Ÿ™‚

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