Rosatom nuclear battery. Nuclear energy in miniature

At the enterprise of the state corporation "Rosatom" "Mining and Chemical Combine" (GCC, Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory) the transformation (conversion) of gas enriched in the target isotope nickel-63 (Ni-63) has been completed into a form suitable for application to a semiconductor converter for obtaining a prototype energy source. A representative of the enterprise’s press service reported this to RIA Novosti.

At the moment, the delivery of the appropriate components for the application of Ni-63 and the final assembly of the prototype “nuclear battery” is expected.

The operating principle of beta-voltaic electricity sources is based on the conversion of radioactive beta decay energy into electricity using a semiconductor converter. The properties of nickel-63 make it a very convenient basis for miniature, safe and maintenance-free beta-voltaic power supplies with a long (at least 50 years) service life and high power density, up to 100 microwatts per cubic centimeter. Such power sources can be used in hard-to-reach areas and in extreme conditions. From a consumer safety point of view, the advantage of nickel-63 is that it is a so-called “soft” beta emitter, so the radiation is completely shielded by the battery housing.

Nickel-63 based batteries. Photo: YouTube

Nickel-63 does not exist in nature, so it is obtained by irradiating the natural isotope Nickel-62 with neutrons nuclear reactor with further radiochemical processing and separation in gas centrifuges.

The Mining and Chemical Combine is the system integrator of the project. MCC organized work in two directions: obtaining a highly enriched Ni-63 isotope and creating a special structure for a semiconductor converter. The project involves Rosatom enterprises with unique competencies. In particular, the Electrochemical Plant (Zelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, part of the Rosatom fuel company TVEL) is responsible for the enrichment of nickel using the Ni-63 isotope. The final stage, the assembly of a prototype power source, will take place at the Mining and Chemical Combine.

As a representative of the MCC press service noted, the design of the semiconductor converter is based on a new design, which qualitatively increases the efficiency of all components. According to experts, power supplies based on highly enriched Ni-63 and with a new converter design create a breakthrough platform for the design of new generation devices in the field of cybernetics and artificial intelligence. This is a new type of device that will become the basis for a new architecture of electronic devices.

They have been trying to develop beta-voltaic batteries - a new generation power source - for half a century, but no one has yet reached the point of industrial production. The battery's filling, the nickel-63 isotope, is not found in nature: it can only be produced artificially.
In some countries, for example the USA, they have come up with technologies that make it possible to obtain nickel, but only low-enriched nickel - with a content of the 63rd isotope of about 20%. You can't make an effective nuclear battery with it. Rosatom enterprises have achieved more than 80% enrichment.
The Russian nuclear battery is a joint project of the MCC, a number of other industry enterprises and the Academy of Sciences. “There are several tasks within the framework of cooperation, the main one is system integration,” the deputy chief told SR technical department GHC Dmitry Druz. “Currently, a number of development works are being carried out on the technology for producing nickel with high enrichment in the 63rd isotope and a number of works to create a prototype battery.”
The operating principle of a nuclear battery is based on the beta-voltaic effect: beta radiation from a radioactive nickel isotope is converted into electrical energy. An analogue of the photoelectric effect, with the difference that the formation of electron-hole pairs in the crystal lattice of a semiconductor occurs under the influence of beta particles (fast electrons), and not photons.
“In principle, a battery based on the nickel-63 isotope consists of four parts: a semiconductor beta-radiation converter coated with an ultra-thin layer of highly enriched nickel-63 isotope, battery contactors and a miniature sealed case,” says Dmitry Druz.

SOURCE SPECIFICATIONS

100 µW/cm

SPECIFIC POWER

16.6.2 mm

DIMENSIONS

>50 years

SERVICE LIFE

20 %

They intend to produce the first sample of a nuclear battery at the Mining and Chemical Combine at the end of 2016 - beginning of 2017. The shape and dimensions of the sources are adapted to microwatt-class batteries, in particular for neuro- and cardiac pacemakers. IN further characteristics and product features will depend on the application and customer requirements. “These can be familiar form factors - “tablets” or miniature AA batteries, or microminiature form factors,” lists Dmitry Druz.

The technology is breakthrough - it is ahead of all currently known Western analogues not even by a step, but by several steps. To implement the project, it is necessary to solve fundamental and applied scientific problems, as well as to apply Rosatom’s industrial technologies, which again have surpassed Western ones. And all this in general, as we expect, will allow us to create by the beginning of next year unique product. Petr Gavrilov, General Director of the Mining Chemical Complex

In the wake of interest in the new product, publications appeared in the press about the developments of other organizations.
Thus, a team of scientists from MISiS, TISNUM, MIPT and NPO Luch created a prototype of a new energy converter for ionizing radiation of the nickel-63 isotope. But this is not a nuclear battery, but a nuclear generator. The head of the research team, head of the Department of Materials Science of Semiconductors and Dielectrics at MISiS, Professor Yuri Parkhomenko comments: “We were faced with a fundamentally different task - the development of a radiation-stimulated mechanoelectric alternating voltage generator operating using the energy of ionizing radiation from the nickel-63 isotope.”
The heart of this battery is the cantilever, a thin plate of piezocrystalline lithium niobate with a bidomain structure. The energy released in the nickel-63 isotope during beta decay is converted into the energy of mechanical vibrations of the piezocrystal cantilever, which, in turn, is converted into an alternating voltage at the electrodes.
Both beta-voltaic and microelectromechanical sources (analogous to the development of MISiS and partners) appeared more than 10 years ago, but they all lack the efficiency and power that high-enrichment nickel-63 can provide. As Dmitry Druz notes, already at the current stage of R&D it is clear that the GKhK battery will surpass all battery samples that use the energy of beta decay of nickel-63. “Our source has multiple advantages both in efficiency and power, as well as in size and unpretentiousness. It can be used in the most extreme conditions,” emphasized Dmitry Druz.
A nuclear battery under the Rosatom brand will very soon become a reality, and there is every reason to believe that this product will revolutionize not only the domestic, but also the world market.

Potential consumers
Medical pacemakers use plutonium-238 as an energy source and last about 10 years. Replacing pacemakers is a complex operation; with a nuclear battery, deimplantation will not be necessary for 50 years. In the nuclear industry, nuclear batteries can be installed in temperature and radiation monitoring sensors. Nuclear batteries will become an indispensable component of networks of autonomous navigation equipment, telemetry systems and online monitoring of a wide range of parameters. The long-lasting sources will be received with a bang by the creators of various underwater systems, the conquerors of the North, and the military industry.
Production
Nickel-63 is a clean energy source: soft beta radiation is not accompanied by harmful gamma radiation. Half-life is 100 years. To produce an isotope, two stages of enrichment are required: first in centrifuges for nickel-62, then, after enrichment and separation, for nickel-63.
To every house?
Who among us doesn’t want our smartphones, computers or tablets to last 50 years without recharging? From a safety point of view, there are no obstacles: beta radiation from nickel-63 is absorbed by the battery housing. However, there is a fear that there will be people who want to disassemble the battery. And then there can be negative consequences. There is another barrier to broad consumer access to nuclear batteries and generators - price. Due to the complex technology for obtaining 1 g of nickel-63, it costs hundreds of thousands of rubles. Even though the battery requires much less than a gram, it is expensive. However, when the product is tested in knowledge-intensive, high-tech industries, demand will increase, and then industrial production nickel-63, and the cost will be much lower. An important question: how to recycle compact nuclear energy sources? “It’s optimal to hand them over for processing to extract the undecayed isotope,” says Dmitry Druz, deputy head of the technical department of the Mining and Chemical Combine.

Finally, Rosatom showed up in our battery field, showing at the Atomexpo-2017 forum nuclear battery with a service life of at least 50 years. Taking advantage of this significant occasion, we will consider the prospects for using the peaceful atom for mobile devices.

Atomic (nuclear) battery- this is still a battery, not an accumulator, since it is, by definition, a disposable source of electric current, without the possibility of recharging. Despite this, the public's imagination is actively excited by the prospect of using nuclear batteries in mobile devices. But first things first.

What exactly did Rosatom present at the forum? General manager FSUE NII NPO Luch, Pavel Zaitsev, stated that the presented source, operating on the Ni63 isotope, is capable of producing 1mkW with a voltage of 2V for 50 years. Pavel Zaitsev speaks quite frankly about the modest current-voltage characteristics, placing the main emphasis on long term services. Probably, solely out of personal modesty, the General Director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research Institute NPO Luch" indicated in technical specifications only power, not generally accepted capacity. But we won't attach it great value and simply calculate the capacity:

C = 0.000001W * 50 years * 365 days * 24 hours / 2V = 219mA

It turns out that the capacity of a nuclear battery, the size of a small universal battery, is just like that of a lithium-polymer (Li-Pol) battery for Bluetooth headphones! Pavel Zaitsev suggests using his nuclear battery in cardiology, which raises serious doubts given such a huge size. Perhaps this nuclear battery can be seen as some kind of prototype for generating electricity from isotopes, but Rosatom will need to shrink the battery thousands of times to fit modern pacemakers.

Not happy with the price at all nuclear battery- director of state unitary enterprise announced the price of a nickel isotope in dollars (!) 4000USD/gram. Does this mean that the main component will be purchased abroad from Russia? How many grams are needed to make one battery? At the same time, it was noted that diamond elements would also be required (it is also not clear how many?), but the cost of which (already in rubles) ranges from 10,000 to 100,000 rubles per piece. What will be the total cost of such a battery? Pacemakers in Russia are installed free of charge under the compulsory medical insurance policy in emergency cases or if there is a quota. If the quota is insufficient and for foreign-made pacemakers, patients have to pay for it themselves. Will nuclear batteries be installed at the expense of the compulsory health insurance budget or will older people have to purchase them separately? If the management of Rosatom remembered that Russian pensioners live in the mode of “standing for a day and holding out for a night,” then they would probably realize the absurd dissonance between the cosmic service life and cost. This suggests that the respected Pavel Zaitsev is actively using the funds allocated for R&D, without thinking at all about the end users. Users give a similar assessment of Rosatom’s “invention” social networks:

It's unlikely to be used anywhere. I am more than sure that the budget was spent as always, part of it was spent on the presentation, and no one will ever see the product itself :)

The declared service life (50 years), as we guessed, is exactly half the half-life of Ni 63 (100 years). The same logic is used by scientists at the University of Bristol in a conceptual video. Unlike the Rosatom battery, the Bristol nuclear battery uses the C 14 isotope and can operate for 5,730 years! The University of Bristol actually forgot to divide by 2, but 2865 years is too long for a pacemaker. The uniqueness of the Bristol concept lies in the fact that the problem of nuclear waste is solved by recycling it into nuclear batteries.

If you listen carefully and translate the text of this video, much more will be revealed. interesting information. First, the origin of the C 14 isotope is described in detail

Since 1940, England has made many nuclear reactors for scientific, military and civil purposes. All of these reactors use uranium as fuel, and the inside of the reactor is made of graphite blocks. These graphite blocks are used in the nuclear fission process, allowing a controlled chain reaction that produces a constant source of heat. This heat is then used to turn water into steam, which then spins turbines to make electricity. Nuclear power plants produce nuclear waste that must be safely disposed of. We just need to wait for this waste to stop being radioactive. Unfortunately, this takes thousands and millions of years. It also requires a lot of money to monitor security over these many years. Since we use graphite reactors, England created 95,000 tons of graphite blocks containing radiation. This graphite is only one form of carbon, a simple and stable element, but if you put these blocks in a highly radioactive place, then some of the carbon turns into carbon 14. Carbon 14 can turn back into regular carbon 12 when its extra energy is gone. But this is a very long process because the half-life of carbon 14 is 5730 years.

Recently, scientists from the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute demonstrated that carbon 14 is concentrated in blocks by radiation from the outside. This means that it is possible to remove most of the radiation by heating them - most of the radiation comes out as a gas, which can then be collected. The remaining graphite blocks are still radioactive , but not so much, this means that it will be easier and cheaper to dispose of them. Radioactive carbon 14 in the form of gas can be processed at low pressures and. high temperatures in diamond is another form of carbon. Man-made diamonds, made from radioactive carbon, emit a stream of beta radiation that can create electric current. This gives us the nuclear power of a diamond battery. To make it safe for our use, it is covered with a layer of non-radioactive diamond, which completely absorbs all radiation and converts it into electricity almost 100%. There are no moving parts, no maintenance, the diamond simply produces electricity. Since diamond is the hardest substance in the world, no other substance can provide such protection for radioactive carbon 14. Therefore, very small amounts of radiation can be detected outside. But this is almost the same amount of radiation as a banana, so it is completely safe. As we said, only half of carbon 14 decays after every 5730 years, which means that our diamond battery has an amazing lifespan - it will only be discharged by 50% in 7746. These diamond batteries will be best used where regular batteries cannot be replaced. For example in satellites for space research or for implanted devices such as pacemakers.

We encourage everyone to submit their suggestions to #diamondbattery. The development of this new technology would solve many problems, such as: nuclear waste, clean electricity and increasing battery life. This will take us into the "Diamond Age" of energy production.

A very beautiful concept by scientists from Bristol in 2016 and a very modest box from Rosatom may (?) someday be developed into diamond power plants, but not nuclear batteries for mobile devices. It will be difficult to persuade people to walk around with Fukushima in their pocket, even if they start paying extra for it.

The use of the atom for peaceful purposes is one of the controversial issues modernity, if we consider that energy is the most monopolized sector of the economy, when taxes and fees account for more than 90% of the price of KW of electricity. The effectiveness of the peaceful atom is questionable, since the price of relatively cheap nuclear energy does not include the cost of man-made consequences. Therefore, some countries, including Germany and Japan, have decided to completely abandon the use of nuclear power in energy. After all, by developing renewable energy sources, it is possible not only to completely abandon nuclear energy, but also to create a high-tech industry with millions of highly skilled jobs.

To sum it up, we most likely have another technocracker like the “Super Battery”, and not a breakthrough “invention” of the Diamond Age. In other words, using a peaceful atom in microenergy is like shaving a pig - there is a lot of squealing, but not enough wool!

Nickel-63 is a very convenient basis for miniature, but at the same time safe and maintenance-free beta-voltaic power supplies with a service life of at least 50 years and high power density. They can be used in various fields, including astronautics and medicine, as well as in various extreme conditions and hard-to-reach areas.

ON THE TOPIC

According to a project participant, deputy head of the Luch laboratory, Alexander Pavkin, a prototype of a compact power source based on nickel-63 is the result of completed research work carried out on an initiative basis. “In this case, we obtained a source power of the order of one microwatt – it is already sufficient to ensure, for example, the operation of a pacemaker,” he emphasized.

It is worth noting that nickel-63 does not exist in nature. It is produced artificially by irradiating the natural isotope nickel-62 with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Subsequently, the resulting material is subjected to radiochemical processing and separation in gas centrifuges.

The work of the presented source is based on nickel with an enrichment level of 20% for nickel-63, said Alexander Pavkin. However, if you use higher enrichment nickel, he added, you can increase the power and at the same time reduce the size of the device. “Nickel-63 is a so-called “soft” beta emitter. In this case, there is no neutron or gamma radiation. And the electrons of beta radiation are completely absorbed by the converter, so, say, if the source is used to operate a pacemaker, they will not even be reach the surface of the skin,” said the deputy head of the Luch laboratory.

Let us recall that earlier Rosatom began implementing a large-scale project in the south of Russia. We are talking about the construction of wind farms in Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory. The total amount of financing for the next 10 years exceeds 63 billion rubles.

An agreement to build the first wind farm in Adygea with a capacity of 150 megawatts was reached last year at the International Investment Forum in Sochi. The implementation of the project will reduce the deficit in the republic's energy system by about a third.

A wind farm or wind power plant is several wind generators collected in one or more places and connected into a single network. Large wind power plants can consist of 100 or more wind generators, which make it possible to cost-effectively use the energy of even the weakest winds - from 4 meters per second.

At the moment, science is progressing and developing. Today, a nuclear battery has already been invented. Such an energy source can last up to 50, and sometimes up to 100 years. It all depends on the size and what radioactive substance used.

The first announcement about the production of a nuclear battery was made by Rosatom. In 2017, this company presented a prototype at the exhibition.

The researchers were able to optimize the layers of a nuclear battery that uses the beta decay of the nickel 63 isotope to generate electricity.

1 gram of such a substance contains 3300 milliwatt hours.

The principle of operation of an atomic battery

Energy production is based on a chemical reaction using different types of isotopes. During beta decay, an electrical potential is created. And this gives current.

Are nuclear batteries dangerous?

The developers claim that such batteries are completely safe for ordinary citizens. And all because the design of the case is made soundly.

It is known that beta radiation harms the body. But in the created nuclear battery it is soft and will be absorbed inside the energy cell.

At the moment, experts identify several industries in which it is planned to use the Russia A123 nuclear battery:

Medicine.
Space industry.
Industry.
Transport.

Also, in addition to these areas, new durable energy sources can be used in others.

Pros of a nuclear battery

There are a number of positive qualities:

Durability. They can last up to 100,000 years.
Ability to withstand critical temperatures.
Their small size allows them to be portable and used in compact equipment.

Disadvantages of a strong battery

Complexity of production.
There is a risk of radiation exposure. Especially if the case is damaged.
Expensive. One nuclear battery can cost from 500,000 to 4,500,000 rubles.
Available to a narrow circle of people.
Small assortment.

The research and development of nuclear batteries is carried out not only by large companies, but also by ordinary students. So in Tomsk, a student developed his own battery, powered by nuclear energy, which can work without recharging for about 12 years. The operation of the invention is based on the decay of tritium. Such a battery does not change its characteristics over time.

Nuclear battery for smartphone

For 2019, nuclear energy sources for phones are being released. They look as shown in the picture below.

They resemble a kind of microcircuit that is inserted into special connectors on a mobile phone. This battery can last 20 years. Moreover, all this time it does not need to be charged. This is possible due to the process of nuclear fission. True, such a source of energy may frighten many. After all, everyone knows that radiation is harmful and destroys the body. And few people will like to carry such a phone next to them throughout the day.

But according to scientists, such a nuclear battery is completely safe. Since tritium is involved as the active substance. Its radiation, which appears during decay, is harmless. You can see the work of tritium on a glow-in-the-dark quartz watch. The battery can withstand frost of minus 50 degrees. It also functions stably at plus 150 C 0 . At the same time, no fluctuations in her work were noted.

It’s a good idea to have such a battery on hand, at least to recharge your phone using a regular battery.

The voltage of such a battery ranges from 0.8 - 2.4 volts. It also generates from 50 to 300 nanoamps. And all this happens over the course of 20 years.

The capacity is calculated as follows: C = 0.000001W * 50 years * 365 days * 24 hours / 2V = 219mA

At the moment, the battery is valued at $1,122. If we convert to rubles at the current exchange rate (65.42), it will come out to 73,400 rubles.

Where are nuclear batteries used?

The scope of application is almost the same as that of conventional batteries. They are used in:

Microelectronics.
Pressure and temperature sensors.
Implants.
As power banks for lithium cells.
Identification systems.
Hours.
SRAM memory.
For powering low-power processors, for example, FPGA, ASIC.

These are not the only devices; in the future, their list will expand significantly.

Nickel 63 nuclear battery and its characteristics

This nuclear energy source, made on the 63 isotope, can last up to 50 years. It works due to the beta voltoic effect. It's almost like a photo electrical effect. In it, electron-hole pairs in the crystal lattice of a semiconductor are created under the action of fast electrons or beta particles. And with the photoelectric effect, they appear under the influence of photons.

A nickel-63 nuclear battery is produced by irradiating nickel-62 targets in a reactor. Researcher Gavrilov claims that this takes about 1 year. The necessary targets are already available in Zheleznogorsk.

If we compare the new Russian nuclear batteries on nickel 63 with lithium-ion batteries, they will be 30 times smaller.

Experts say that these energy sources are safe for humans as they emit weak beta rays. In addition, they do not come out, but remain inside the device.

Such a power source is currently ideal for medical pacemakers. But the developers don’t talk about the cost. But you can calculate it without them. 1 gram of Ni-63 currently costs approximately $4,000. From here we can conclude that a full-fledged battery will require a lot of money.

Nickel 63 is mined from diamonds. But to obtain this isotope it was necessary to create new technology for cutting durable diamond material.

In general, a nuclear battery consists of an emitter and a collector separated by a special film. When a radioactive element decays, it releases beta radiation. As a result, it becomes positively charged. At this time, the collector is charged negatively. After which a potential difference appears and an electric current is formed.

In essence, our atomic battery is a layered cake. Between the 200 diamond semiconductors are 200 energy sources made of nickel 63. The height of the energy source is about 4 mm. Its weight is 250 milligrams. Small size is a big plus for the Russian nuclear battery.

It is difficult to find the required dimensions. The large thickness of the isotope will not allow the electrons that appear in it to escape. A small thickness is not beneficial, since the number of beta decays per unit time decreases. The same thing applies to the thickness of the semiconductor. The battery functions best when the isotope thickness is about 2 microns. And the diamond semiconductor is 10 microns.

But what scientists have achieved so far is not the limit. Emissions can be increased at least three times more. This means that a nuclear battery can be made 3 times cheaper.

Carbon 14 nuclear battery lasts 100 years

This atomic battery has the following advantages compared to other radiation energy sources:

Cheapness.
Ecological cleanliness.
Long service life up to 100 years.
Low toxicity.
Safety.
Capable of working in extreme temperature conditions.

The radioactive isotope carbon 14 has a half-life of 5,700 years. It is absolutely non-toxic and low cost.

Not only the USA and Russia, but also other countries are actively working to modernize the nuclear battery! Researchers have learned to grow a film on a carbide substrate. As a result, the price of the substrate fell by as much as 100 times. This structure is resistant to radiation, and this makes this energy source safe and durable. By using silicon carbide in nuclear batteries, it is possible to achieve its operation at a temperature of 350 degrees Celsius.

Thus, scientists managed to create an atomic battery with their own hands!