Scientists and engineers from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol have teamed up to create the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery.
One of the biggest challenges in developing clean and low-carbon technologies is the batteries required to power them. Many of these batteries require rare minerals – and then there is the issue of how to environmentally dispose of or recycle them at the end-of-life.
With this in mind, UKAEA and materials researchers at the University of Bristol have collaborated to create a diamond battery that has the potential to power devices for thousands of years. Having such a long-lasting energy source could drastically reduce the waste batteries tend to generate.
Sarah Clark, director of tritium fuel cycle at UKAEA, said: “Diamond batteries offer a safe, sustainable way to provide continuous microwatt levels of power. They are an emerging technology that use a manufactured diamond to safely encase small amounts of carbon-14.”
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