By Margherita Bassi Published March 8, 2025 | Comments (4) | Researchers develop a small battery powered by nuclear waste radiation. D5481026, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Unlike burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants release very few greenhouse gases. Theyre safer than theyve ever been, and currently generate around a fifth of the U.S.s electricity. However, nuclear power plants produce hazardous waste, and scientists are still searching for effective ways to manage this dangerous byproduct. What if we could do more than just store itwhat if we could use it to create more energy? Inspired by this idea, researchers in Ohio have developed a small battery powered by nuclear waste. They exposed scintillator crystalsa material that emits light when it absorbs radiationto gamma radiation, which is produced by nuclear waste. The crystals light then powered a solar battery. The study, published January 29 in the journal Optical Materials: X, demonstrates that background levels of gamma radiation could power small electronics, such as microchips. Were harvesting something considered as waste and by nature, trying to turn it into treasure, lead author Raymond Cao said in an Ohio State University statement. He is the director of Ohio States Nuclear Reactor Lab. The team tested the battery prototype with cesium-137 and cobalt-60, common radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactors. Using cesium-137, the battery produced 288 nanowatts of power, while cobalt-60 generated 1.5 microwattsenough to power a small sensor. Though this might seem like a small victorya standard 10W LED light bulb requires 10 million microwattsCao and his colleagues argue that their approach could be scaled up to power technology at the watt scale (as opposed to microwatts) or even higher. Such batteries could be used in environments where nuclear waste is produced, such as nuclear waste storage pools. They have the potential to be long-lasting and require little to no routine maintenance.The nuclear battery concept is very promising, said Ibrahim Oksuz, co-author of the study and an Ohio State mechanical and aerospace engineer. Theres still lots of room for improvement, but I believe in the future, this approach will carve an important space for itself in both the energy production and sensors industry. The researchers also noted that the structure of the scintillator crystals may affect the batterys energy output, theorizing that larger crystals absorb more radiation and emit more light. A solar battery with a larger surface area can also absorb more light, and consequently produce more energy.This two-step process is still in its preliminary stages, but the next step involves generating greater watts with scale-up constructs, Oksuz explained. Currently, scaling this technology would be expensive, and more research is necessary to refine the findings. Nevertheless, the study proves that with enough ingenuity, one persons waste can really be another persons treasureor in this case, a source of energy.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Margherita Bassi Published January 15, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published December 21, 2024 By Adam Kovac Published September 10, 2024 By Kyle Barr Published June 6, 2024 By Maxwell Zeff Published March 11, 2024 By Lucas Ropek Published February 1, 2024