A  company in China has developed a tiny battery that can provide power for 50 years.

The coin-sized battery can generate power for five decades without needing to be charged. The groundbreaking battery was unveiled earlier this month by Beijing-based business, Betavolt.

Named BV100, the tiny battery generates power using energy emitted from a decaying radioactive isotope of nickel. Ultimately, the battery is created from technology which converts energy from decaying isotopes (in this case nickel-63) into electricity. It can store 3,300 megawatt hours and according to Betavolt is ‘way ahead of European and American scientific research institutions and enterprises’.

While this isn’t strong enough to power a smartphone, the company hopes it has the potential to do so in the future

While the battery – which can operate in temperatures between -60°C to 120°C – is in its very early stages, the company is looking to create more powerful batteries with the use of radioactive isotopes.

The company plans to launch a battery with a power of 1 watt in 2025. If policies permit, atomic energy batteries can allow a mobile phone to never be charged, and drones that can only fly for 15 minutes can fly continuously,

Betavolt said.

[Source: UNILAD]