Imagine if you only had to charge your phone battery or tablet once every nine years, wouldn’t that be nice? Well, that’s becoming a reality, thanks to US-based startup NDB, which is developing a nano-diamond battery made of nuclear waste that could last up to 28,000 years.
Nano-diamond technology could significantly reduce the environmental consequences of the manufacture and disposal of batteries.
Dr. Nima Golsharifi, Co-Founder and CEO of NDB, said:
This battery has two different merits. One is that it uses nuclear waste and converts it into something good. And the second is that runs for a much longer time than the current batteries.
The battery’s power comes from radioactive isotopes commonly used in nuclear reactors. Multiple layers of synthetic diamonds – one of the most challenging materials to damage – protects its radioactive core. The diamond absorbs energy via inelastic scattering, which is then used to generate electricity.
Golsharifi explained:
As members of society, we are extremely concerned about the welfare of the planet and are focused on lowering climate change to protect our planet for future generations. With the NDB battery, we have achieved a massive, ground-breaking, proprietary technological breakthrough of a battery that is emission-free, lasts thousands of years, and only requires access to natural air in order to power devices.
The battery can power a broad range of devices and machines of any size – from smartphones and electric vehicles to aircraft and rockets – offering 28,000 years lifetime for very low power applications that could be used in outer space.
Golsharifi said:
We should be able to have the battery for mobile phones and consumer electronics that will last nine years in about three years from now.
The startup is currently developing the first commercial prototype battery and expects it to be available by the end of this year.
