Betavoltaic Battery Products: Tritium Batteries Designed and Manufactured by City Labs

Tritium batteries typically supply power in the nanowatt to microwatt range and can be extended to milliwatts. They are designed to power low-power electronics over long periods of time.

Tritium releases beta particles, which are very weak compared to other forms of radiation. This radioactive decay can be entirely blocked by sheets of metal that are only a tiny fraction of the thickness of a penny. Coating tritium batteries is easy, cost-effective, and makes them safe for commercial and practical uses. 

Tritium has a half-life of 12.32 years, meaning half his amount about every 12 years. Depending on the required power necessary for a device, our tritium batteries can function successfully for more than 20 years. 

Unlike electrochemical batteries, betavoltaic tritium batteries do not sustain permanent damage from extreme temperatures. If one of our batteries is heated to high temperatures, its voltage goes down in a predictable manner. Similarly, the voltage of the battery goes up as the temperature goes down. Once the battery returns to its original state, however, it will output with the same voltage as it did originally. 

Betavoltaics and nuclear batteries are not widely available to individual consumers. Most of these power sources are still being developed and improved upon. However, some companies—such as City Labs—offer betavoltaic power cells for commercial or scientific use. 

The current applications for nuclear batteries are limited. The average person has no reason to buy our products. We typically deal with businesses and/or scientific organizations interested in long-term partnerships that evolve their technology. 

Tritium batteries are a long-term investment, so contact City Labs for a specific price on our packages. Base price starts at $5,250 per battery; however, discounts are provided for bulk orders, and customizations may cost extra. 

One of the reasons tritium batteries are so environmentally-friendly is they eventually decay to helium-3, a stable non-radioactive isotope. Tritium itself is a byproduct of nuclear reactors. When it is harnessed in a betavoltaic cell, its entire lifespan will be spent powering a low-power device. Once it has fully decayed, it will return to a stable state. 

Due to the potential of any residual radioactivity, you should send tritium batteries to a proper facility for disposal. 

The complex nature of radioactive materials makes them difficult to recycle without the help of a specialist. If tritium has not reached the end of its useful life, it may be able to be repurposed in another device. 

If it has already stabilized—or decayed to the point where it’s no longer useful—it should be sent to a radioactive material disposal facility. 

Fusion reactors are large machines that aim to capture energy from nuclear fusion reactions. Theoretically, this energy could provide massive amounts of power in a sustainable manner. In practice, however, fusion may still be decades away from commercialization. 

Nuclear reactors generate electricity from radioactive chemical reactions and often require more than one square mile to function. Microreactors, as the name suggests, are smaller models of nuclear reactors that output a fraction of the power—less than 50 megawatts compared to 1,000 megawatts. Microreactors are small enough to transport by truck and address the needs of individual facilities that are independent of power grids. 

The near future holds incredible potential for portable nuclear power and fusion reactors. 

In a world where entire cities can run on nuclear power, low-power microelectronic batteries will still be a necessity. 

Optoelectronic devices deal with the detection and control of light, often to make power for other devices or machines through the use of photovoltaic principles. Photovoltaic principles involve routing the sun’s radiation through semiconductor junctions to produce electrical energy (e.g., solar energy).

While photovoltaics are an effective and sustainable alternative power source, they are heavily reliant on the surrounding environment. This method of conversion cannot be used in locations where the sun’s rays do not reach. In the depths of the ocean, underground, inside machines, and in less sunny regions, the reliability of betavoltaic batteries is unmatched. 

The nuclear diamond battery is one of the most similar to the tritium battery, but it is the farthest from practical application. 

Scientists from England’s University of Bristol built a manmade battery that can generate a small charge from radioactive material. One of the more popular ideas is to use Carbon-14 as a power source, which has a half-life of 5,730 years. Though these cells would likely provide less power than a AA battery, they could help repurpose nuclear waste across the world and provide a long-term low-power battery.

The diamond battery is still a long way down the road to actual utilization. Even if all is successful, we don’t know how much it will cost or how customizable it will be. Tritium batteries are here—and they are reliable, accessible, and adaptable to a variety of applications.