June 2026 | Press Release
City Labs Awarded $1.5M DARPA Contract for Next-Generation Nuclear Battery Technology
Miami, FL [May 18, 2026] — City Labs, the leader in tritium nuclear micropower technology, today announced it has been awarded a $1.5 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under the Rads to Watts (R2W) program. The funding will support the development of a new class of high-power radiovoltaic energy systems.
Building on its commercially available NanoTritium™ platform, City Labs, in collaboration with Microlink Devices, will develop watt-class radiovoltaic unit cells targeting system-level performance of 10 watts per kilogram. This is a substantial increase in power density while maintaining the long operational lifetimes tritium-based systems are known for. The program also enables City Labs to pursue a new class of tritium metal hydride materials.
“Programs like this encourage teams to take on ambitious challenges that can lead to next-generation advances,” said Peter Cabauy, CEO of City Labs. “For us, that means finally pursuing a new class of materials we’ve believed in for years but can now develop with this critical institutional support.”
The resulting systems are designed for missions where conventional power sources fall short, including deep-space operations, national security platforms, and long-duration autonomous systems. Potential commercial applications include remote sensing, infrastructure monitoring, and advanced medical devices.
The DARPA Rads to Watts program is intended to drive breakthroughs in direct energy conversion from radiation and support the development of compact and efficient nuclear power systems for future technologies. To learn more about City Labs and tritium nuclear battery technology, visit https://citylabs.net/.
This research was, in part, funded by the U.S. Government. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.
About City Labs
City Labs, Inc. is a Florida-based corporation specializing in designing, developing, and manufacturing advanced nuclear micropower technology based on tritium, enabling long-life, maintenance-free power for medical, industrial, and space applications. Its NanoTritium™ platform delivers reliable micropower in compact form factors where conventional energy sources are impractical.
