Nuclear Battery Technology That Is Used for More than 10 Years Is Developed in S. Korea for First Time

Nuclear battery technology that produces electricity for more than 10 years is developed by a research team in South Korea.

Daegu Technopark made an announcement on the 16th that it succeeded in making a prototype for commercialization of South Korea radioisotope battery (nuclear battery) as part of ‘Isotope and All-Solid-State Hybrid Battery Business (Industrial Convergence Original Technology Development Business)’.

This technology uses radioisotope (Ni-63) and silicon-based semiconductor and can produce electricity for at least 10 years. For development of this technology, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Mantech and others co-participated while Daegu TP Nano Convergence Practical Application Center (Daegu TP Nano Center) was in the center of this business.

Nuclear battery technology is a semipermanent future battery technology that produces electricity by using beta-isotope that comes out from radioisotope. With lifespan of at least 10 years, it is mostly used in special fields such as military, aerospace, medical fields and others.

Globally, technologies that accumulate radioisotopes, which are raw material for batteries, in large scale and that implement battery system are not yet near to be commercialized.

Other countries are busy with R&D for commercialization and have been investing more than 10 years for basic and original technologies.

Russia and the U.S. have been focusing on developing batteries that can be used stably for many years without separate supplies of energies on ultra-small micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device, national defense and medical field. Russia once recently said that it is developing nuclear batteries that can be used for more than 50 years by extracting Ni-63 isotope.

By using Ni-63 with half-life of 100 years and silicon-based semiconductor, Daegu TP Nano Center has developed ultra-small nuclear batteries that can produce electricity for at least 10 years and all-solid-state secondary battery technology that can stably charge with electricity that is produced.

This battery produces electricity by colliding electrons that are released from radioisotope onto semiconductors. Its life expectancy is tens of years and it has high energy density per unit mass. Its reliability is also high since it is very stable.

Major technologies are non-radioactive radioisotope production technology and high-efficient semiconductor design and manufacturing technologies that have high efficiency in change of electricity.

By using nuclear reactors that are for research purpose, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has developed non-radioactive radioisotope production technology and technology that combines semiconductor and isotopes finely.

ETRI has developed low-cost silicon semiconductor with 3D trench structure that has high efficiency in change of electricity. Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology has developed all-solid-state secondary battery that can stably charge electricity that is produced from radioisotope battery.

Daegu TP Nano Center was able to secure performance and reliability-based technologies of isotope and all-solid-state hybrid batteries through these developments.

Nano Center is planning to start developing batteries that have 5 times higher output by using Silicon Carbide Semiconductor instead of silicon during 4th year and 5th year of this business. During follow-up research for commercialization after 2017, it will develop commercial nuclear batteries that can be used in military, aerospace, and medical field by using isotopes such as tritium and strontium that have half-life between 10 to 30 years.

Daegu TP Nano Center was chosen as the leading organization for this business at end of 2012, and total of $11.6 million (13.6 billion KRW) will be invested for 5 years until 2017. 3rd year of this business was completed by end of last month, and it is currently in the process of 4th year.

“Through Isotope and All-Solid-State Hybrid Battery Business, we were able to provide an opportunity for South Korea to have advanced isotope batteries-based long-lived battery technologies that were almost nonexistent in South Korean research institutes.” said Director Park Chan-seok of Daegu TP Nano Center. “Through follow-up businesses, we are expecting that we will be able to secure even commercialization technologies.”

Daegu = Staff Reporter Jung, Jaehoon | [email protected]