researchers at Dalhousie University's tesla-funded battery Research Center appear to have found a
potentially significant cause for Lithium-ion batteries propensity to self-discharge the
group's discoveries were astoundingly basic yet potentially essential which was pretty remarkable
furthermore Tesla's battery research division just released a study on a novel battery that
does not require charging what is this is this even possible in the future join me as we unravel
this powerful battery that doesn't require charging hello everyone welcome back to Elon
Musk Evolution where we bring you the most recent news about Elon Musk and his multi-billion dollar
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despite their technological promise lie ion batteries have a number of flaws most notably
in terms of safety and high voltages Lithium-ion batteries have a tendency to overheat and can
be damaged this can in some situations result in thermal runaway and combustion this has resulted
in numerous issues one of which is battery fires Tesla's Advanced Battery research Department in
Canada in collaboration with Dalhousie University has published a new study describing a novel
battery that could shock the EV industry as the globe seeks to cut carbon emissions
electric transportation is being promoted as one of the means through which countries might meet
their own emission limits countries must move to renewable energy sources to ensure that this can
be sustained while electric vehicle manufacturers must ensure that the cars themselves do not become
a source of concern Elon musk's Tesla has teamed up with Jeff Don one of the world's
foremost Specialists on Battery Technology Don has been working on Lithium-ion batteries
which are used in most electric products today since they were invented Dawn works at Dalhousie
University in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada and Tesla established its Advanced Battery research
section at the University to benefit from Dawn's experience in the field Don has been credited with
the commercial success of Lithium-ion batteries after working on improving their life cycles Don
has been working to boost the energy density and durability of these batteries which have
become a runaway success and the foundation for electric vehicles Dawn's work in this field has
already resulted in numerous patents and papers for Tesla Don has recently been working on a new
battery that will completely trans form Tesla this essentially entails converting nuclear waste into
useful energy storage which is amazing because while nuclear power is a fantastic source of
zero carbon energy it does produce a radioactive byproduct that is nearly impossible to securely
dispose of did you realize that we essentially lack a strategy for the long-term destruction
or disposal of nuclear waste this is somewhat astounding given that there are currently over 90
000 metric tons of radioactive waste in temporary storage in the U.S alone when we say that this
waste is chilling we mean that the containers it is stored in are rapidly deteriorating and
corroding after being left unused for several decades causing nuclear waste to leak out in short
what occurred was that people in the past had no idea how to deal with this stuff so their solution
was to Simply store it in a hole and hope that someone in the future would figure it out now that
it's the future the same trash that was dumped there 70 years ago is still there there should be
action taken in that regard naturally we we can't immediately convert all of that into batteries
but the idea is that we can use some of it as a form of energy storage employing specifically
used graphite blocks from nuclear reactors that were used as Neutron moderators since graphite is
simply a crystalline form of carbon this nuclear graphite waste contains the vital radioactive
isotope carbon 14 which has the ability to produce energetic electrons as a byproduct which is what
we want to capture and use for energy carbon can be turned into gas by being heated to an
extreme temperature in a low pressure environment the gas can then be cooled and repressurized to
form diamond in this case a radioactive Diamond then you insert the radioactive Diamond into a
battery cell made of a semiconductor material such as silicone which gathers stray electrons
and permits an electric current to flow out of the cell converting radiation into power
the radioactive Diamond cell must be covered with a layer of non-radioactive diamond to stop
radiation from leaking out since this sounds scary and it is the main benefit in this situation is
that the carbon will continue to produce electrons throughout the full period of radioactivity which
in this case will be a half-life extending for thousands of years the battery will never run out
of power the technical term for this concept is a beta voltaic cell which is not a novel concept
but the refined implementation employing the safe Diamond within a diamond method is novel sounds
great huh the only issue is that the soul cell design so far suggested is a tiny little thing
approximately the size of a computer chip and its energy capacity is rated at 100 microwatts
on this channel we typically discuss energy in terms of kilowatts megawatts and even gigawatts
an average Tesla long-range battery pack for instance has an energy capacity of 75 kilowatt
hours there are 1 billion microwatts in a kilowatt to compare that to the scale used for measuring
power thus the degree of scaling required to advance nuclear Diamond Battery Technology from
where it is today to where it would need to be to power an electric automobile is extremely steep
to sum up it's a brilliant idea that most surely works but it's not yet ready to change the world
as much as some people would have you believe why aren't nuclear batteries used in electric vehicles
nuclear batteries have existed for decades but have never been employed in electric vehicles
this is due to a variety of factors to begin with nuclear batteries are extremely expensive
to manufacture they necessitate specialized materials and production procedures making them
far more expensive than standard batteries second nuclear batteries are extremely Hefty as a result
they are unsuitable for use in electric vehicles which must be as light as possible in order to
maximize range and efficiency third nuclear batteries have the potential to be harmful
they could spill radioactive substances into the environment if they leak or explode this would be
a big safety issue and it would most certainly deter people from purchasing electric vehicles
fourth the lifespan of nuclear batteries is limited they often only last a few years before
needing to be replaced which is inconvenient for an automobile designed to survive for many years
overall there are numerous reasons why nuclear batteries have never been employed in electric
vehicles they are expensive heavy dangerous and have a limited lifespan nuclear batteries are
unlikely to be employed in electric cars unless these difficulties are rectified can nuclear
energy be used to Power electric vehicles vehicle manufacturers battery companies and charging
stations may all employ nuclear technology to generate clean energy when you plug in your next
electric vehicle you'll understand how much your decision has altered your life thorium a potential
nuclear fuel could one day be used in vehicles the Cadillac thorium-powered concept automobile
debuted at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show where it was on exhibit for a single day the first nuclear car
was proposed in 1903 and a researcher at Caltech proposed a uranium-235 powered vehicle in 1941.
why are there no nuclear-powered automobiles there are various reasons why nuclear-powered
Vehicles do not exist the first is that nuclear reactors are extremely expensive to construct
and maintain the second reason is that nuclear reactors generate radioactive waste which must
be disposed of properly the third argument is that nuclear reactors can be hazardous if not
properly maintained finally nuclear power plants are inefficient in terms of producing electricity
nuclear-powered cars have a lot of potential but their radioactive power source could represent a
big risk to avoid humans from being killed considerable shielding around the vehicles
would be required and it's unclear whether that could be accomplished even if the automobiles are
built they will very definitely be used only in exceptional cases our nuclear battery safe
there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this topic because the safety of nuclear batteries
is dependent on a number of factors including the precise design of the battery the materials
used the operating circumstances and the level of Maintenance nuclear batteries on the other
hand are generally safe when used as designed and in accordance with safety regulations furthermore
nuclear batteries include a number of safety features such as Fail-Safe devices that prevent
the release of radioactive material in the event of an accident the drawbacks of nuclear battery
there are a few drawbacks the initial outlay is significant the nuclear battery is also prone to
a number of additional drawbacks such as the fact that its methods for generating power are not very
modern or are based on recent technology or Trends the advanced lead reactor sealer was developed by
the Swedish Company lead cold reactors as a small lead-cooled nuclear battery reactor for use in
off-grid applications the reactor has a life of 27 complete power years at 8 mwth when fueled with
42.2 percent uo2 fuel up to three mwth when fueled with 20 uo2 fuel according to an analysis sealer
can resist an unprotected withdrawal of a single control rod as well as a loss of forced flow and
heatsink no shelter or evacuation is necessary under licensing standards for reactors located in
Arctic communities for many years space missions relied on nuclear power to provide propulsion
and Power Nuclear Power was primarily employed by Americans to power spacecraft and probes although
Russians used it more extensively a radioisotope thermoelectric generator is a possibility for
generating power of up to 1000 Watts using modern Technologies rtgs have also been used
on missions to the moon and outer space such as the Voyager spacecraft it was a fantastic proof
of concept for using a nuclear reactor in space applications the nerva which stands for nuclear
engine for Rocket vehicle application was the first real nuclear rocket the ultimate version
was the safe 400 reactor which NASA used to test nuclear applications in Space the safe 400 is a
400 kilowatt double Brayton cycle HPS capable of supplying 100 kwe to spaceship systems the
heat exchanger in the safe 400 system had an exit temperature of 880 degrees Celsius at the
time when the core is equipped with reflectors the safe 400 has a diameter of 51 centimeters
using an electric ion engine safe was tested on NASA missions during the 1960s topaz 2 nuclear
reactors used a potassium alloy coated in 96 enriched uranium oxide to cover each fuel element
and fuel pins consisting of 96 uranium dioxide nak were used as a liquid metal coolant despite
the country's substantial usage of nuclear power in space applications the use of nuclear power
was severely constrained after the Cold War due to funding restrictions a lithium battery has an
average battery life of about eight years but a nuclear battery has an average battery life
of about 12 years the use of pacing impulses to store energy in the battery uses a considerable
amount of the total energy in the device the beta cell 400 147 Watts was the first viable
beta voltaic power source which was utilized in cardiac Pacemakers in 1973. the Nano tritium model
p100 has dimensions of 36 0.6 millimeters by 16.1 millimeters by 3.5 centimeters cubed and a volume
of roughly 2 centimeters cubed the open circuit voltage of the device ranges from 8.1 to 1.4 volts
and the current capacity is 350 na with various design options the maximum power and density can
be limited to 800 NW per centimeter cubed early panels were susceptible to yellowing which was
later discovered to be caused by UV exposure heat and pressure rather than silicone rubber should be
employed to seal the cells between glass plates Toshiba is working on a nuclear battery for the
super safe small and simple 4S category the secure transportable autonomous reactor is a modular
lead-cooled Reactor with a number of passive safety features when there is a power Interruption
a reflector falls to the bottom of a reactor vessel slowing the reaction and eliminating DK
Heat a 10 megawatt version is projected the cost between five to seven cents per kilowatt hour and
2500 per kilowatt to run overnight the search for an autonomous power supply for implanted
systems has reawakened interest in contrast to cardiac pacemakers these devices are often
used on patients of all ages at the moment thermal generators based on Piezo electric electrostatic
and inductive systems and thermoelectric generators are two viable Alternatives in
some situations an implanted system may require an extra intra-body lead the most elegant application
of glucose as a continuous source of chemical energy is to employ a fuel cell implanted in the
body to continually convert it into electricity Japan is one of the world's major industrial
countries yet it has no domestic oil or natural gas reserves and imports nearly as much crude
oil as the US Japan as one of the world's largest hydrogen manufacturers has much to offer in this
regard card a significant investment in fuel cell research by both the government and the
automobile industry has resulted in it being one of the world's leading fuel cell r d countries
Japan now utilizes roughly 162 million nm3 of SMR per year the majority of which is utilized in H2
hydrogen demand is predicted to rise to 54.4 nm3 in the next few years as part of its conceptual
design the jaea created a commercial scale hydrogen to generation reactor the GT HTR 300
is powered by a helium-cooled prismatic core with an operating temperature of 850 degrees Celsius
600 megawatts of thermal power and a graphite moderated Prismatic core the central Research
Institute of electric power industry collaborated with Toshiba to create a 4S reactor the flight
could travel up to 339 kilometers at a speed of up to 255 kilometers per hour due to considerable
structural and structural changes although this is a still a significant step away from turboprop
capability there is no time restriction on when enough batteries can be manufactured unless a huge
breakthrough occurs shortly electric airplanes have yet to ascend to the skies several intriguing
Technologies are being explored at the moment to Aid in the development of electric propulsion a
catapult is preferable to a ready-to-fly aircraft an electromagnetic field can also be used to
create plasma jet engines which generate energy using compressed air inhaled air and excited air
how long do nuclear batteries last it is powered by nuclear waste for the duration of its life
and can charge for hundreds of years due to its internal fuel which can be burned repeatedly in
theory a single battery could survive for more than a thousand years without needing to be
recharged or replaced How much power can a nuclear battery produce according to research nuclear
batteries have the ability to provide Power ranging from 1 to 50 MW per G nuclear batteries
the next big thing in power in terms of power and efficiency nuclear batteries are significantly
more efficient and powerful than electrochemical batteries they have a power output of roughly one
watt when powered by 10 watts per centimeter cubed of current over their 100 Year Half-Life these
batteries have an energy density of around 3.3 wh per G which is 10 times greater than traditional
electrochemical batteries this is still less than the 100 watt hour per kilogram required for many
applications such as electric automobiles but it is a major advancement beta voltaic devices with
an efficiency of six to eight percent have the potential to reduce global warming as a result the
device emits only 8 Watt hours of heat for every 100 watt hours of energy use although most Atomic
batteries have an efficiency of less than 0.1 to five percent this is still a fascinating option
nuclear batteries are on their way to becoming much more powerful and efficient despite the fact
that they have a long way to go before they can compete with ordinary electrochemical batteries
in terms of energy density this is a huge step forward for electric vehicles and other high
power applications sodium ion battery let's talk about the sodium ion battery which is now being
investigated by the Chinese Battery Giant catl they're a Tesla battery supply partner and the
world's largest battery producer the rationale behind sodium ions is that they are exchanging
lithium a scarce metal for sodium and abundant mineral there is around 100 times more sodium
available than lithium with that being said are you ready for a nuclear battery for your car
and that ends today's episode what do you think of this episode let us know
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