Researchers make out-of-this-world breakthrough with nuclear tech the size of a finger: 'We can put safe nuclear energy into devices'
That's because a team at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea is among groups studying small atomic packs that could provide unlimited power for EVs, smartphones, and other devices without needing to recharge.
"The frequent charging required for (lithium-ion) batteries isn't just an inconvenience. It limits the utility of technologies that use the batteries for power," the scientists wrote.
The institute, referred to as DGIST, is working with radiocarbon that can provide small, safe, and low-cost power sources. Also called carbon-14, the substance is used for carbon dating, too.
The nuclear battery works by harnessing high-energy particles from radiocarbon. Importantly, the journal noted that not all atomic material harms humans. Beta rays can be made safe when encased in aluminum or other elements, for example.
The DGIST contraption is a radiocarbon betavoltaic pack.
"I decided to use a radioactive isotope of carbon because it generates only beta rays," professor Su-Il In said in the findings. It's a byproduct of nuclear plants, making it an inexpensive source that's easy to recycle, and its slow degradation makes it a power source that could last for "millennia," per the report. That said, the Union of Concerned Scientists has consistently spoken out against experimenting with new nuclear tech, noting risks and prohibitive costs.
The DGIST team is also working on improving the semiconductor needed for the packs to convert the rays to energy. So far, experts have improved the conversion rate from 0.48% to 2.86%, per the journal.
Other nuclear batteries in development are being made to power sensors in space and deep underwater, among more extreme settings. England's University of Bristol is using carbon-14 as part of a small diamond-encased pack, as another example.
DGIST envisions everlasting pacemakers to start with, and a solution to powering energy-gobbling data centers. The facilities are estimated by Goldman Sachs to use 165% more electricity by 2030.
Other perks include air-pollution-free energy without the need to mine for the rare and expensive metals and minerals used in common batteries. While Sustainability by Numbers reported that we will need tens of millions of tons of deposits to power the clean-energy shift by 2040, it still falls far short of the 16.5 billion tons of dirty fossil fuels hauled from Earth each year.
Nuclear batteries could offer an option that requires no mining at all.
What's more, both lithium and atomic packs check the crucial box of reducing heat-trapping fumes linked by NASA to increased severe weather risks.
Limiting the gas production at home is often accompanied by lower utility bills. Rooftop solar panels, for example, can save you on average $700 a year — that's even after expenses are deducted, per a government study. Simply switching out your old light bulbs for LEDs can bank hundreds of bucks annually while cutting significant pollution, too.
At DGIST, the team intends to show the world that nuclear energy can also be utilized in small settings. If successful, the results could have huge implications.
"We can put safe nuclear energy into devices the size of a finger," In said in the report.
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Forbes
44 minutes ago
- Forbes
24M Technologies Could Make Electric Vehicle Battery Fires Less Likely
Electric vehicle fires are less likely, but they can happen in more dangerous places like garages. The media war against electric vehicles goes through phases, with different attack strategies coming to the fore and others receding. But one fear that continually enflames enragement is the possibility of EV battery fires. Despite the statistics showing that these are far less likely to happen than with cars powered by fossil fuel, they do tend to last longer and are harder for firemen to extinguish. But 24M Technologies reckons it can significantly reduce the incidence of EV battery fires. I talked to the company's CEO Naoki Ota and President Ulrik Grape about how their technologies could improve battery safety, as well as delivering better performance and recyclability. Battling EV Fire Disinformation With 24M Technologies There is a lot of disinformation about EV battery fires, or at least misleading framing. One British publication noted that in the UK electric car fires had grown from 131 in 2022 to 232 in 2024 – a rise of 77%. However, the number of EVs on British roads had risen from 664,148 in 2022 to 1.3 million in 2024 – a 96% increase. So overall EVs have become safer. There were 18,313 fossil fuel vehicle fires in the UK in the UK in 2024, 79x more than EVs fires, but there were only 26x more fossil fuel cars, so combustion cars were nearly three times as likely to catch fire. Nevertheless, any vehicle fires are problematic. Just one incident can endanger life and necessitate an expensive manufacturer recall even if nobody got hurt. 'EVs are safe, but there are incidents happening, and as you get more and more vehicles on the road, there's going to be more and more fires,' says Grape. 'In today's social media, it's going to get escalated. EV fires are much less frequent than combustion engine vehicle fires, but they are more volatile. They also tend to happen when you're charging the vehicle, so then you have a risk to garages and being close to your home.' Dendrite formation is the big danger for battery fires as cells age This is where the design of the cell becomes important. 'The more cycles a battery has, the more dendrites grow, and the more likely it is to be dangerous,' says Ota. This is like combustion engines, which are also more likely to catch fire when older. 'EVs have been around less time, with even the oldest just ten years old. But people drive cars for 15 or 20 years. Also, as you put more energy density in a battery, it becomes more dangerous.' However, more manufacturers are switching from Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery chemistry to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), which is already safer due to lower susceptibility to thermal runaway. BYD, for example, exclusively uses this technology. However, the safety still decreases as energy density increases, and the roadmap is steep particularly from Chinese companies. The classic demonstration of LFP battery safety involves driving a nail through a pack, which can cause immediate conflagration with NMC batteries, but this is less likely with LFP. However, 24M doesn't see this as a realistic scenario. 'This doesn't represent a real internal short circuit,' says Ota. 'An internal short circuit is a very narrow area than a thick nail, producing a much higher temperature.' Enter Impervio: 24M Technologies' Battery Safety Superhero The technology 24M offers to combat this is called Impervio. 'Impervio is a three-layer separator,' says Ota. The separator is the membrane between the anode and cathode, which allows lithium ions to pass through but prevents a short circuit. The short circuit problem comes when dendrites form from the anode side. If they reach the cathode, they cause an internal short circuit that can lead to a battery fire. Impervio's third layer actively blocks dendrite formation and detects potential short circuits so they can be dealt with before they become dangerous, via cell replacement. 'When a dendrite reaches the impervious layer, it doesn't grow vertically from anode to cathode. It grows horizontally and in the end is dissolved, so it never gets to the cathode. This doesn't add a lot of cost. We can utilize the existing separator. It's like ceramic coating.' The extra middle layer of Impervio prevents dendrites growing from the anode to the cathode Just a few car fires can cause a company to recall all potentially affected vehicles, costing billions, because they can't detect which cars will fail. Ota likens Impervio to an airbag – you might never have to use it, but it's worth having just in case. 'When an internal short circuit happens, it goes in milliseconds,' says Grape. 'Once it starts, you can't stop it from the outside. The only other method being tried is containment, packaging something around the cell. The uniqueness of the Impervio separator is that it can tell you this cell has to be shut down because it's approaching a dangerous level. Back in the 60s, the seatbelt was introduced that made car passengers safe. Then we added the airbag to make them even safer. That is the message with Impervio. We're getting to such a high energy density in the cells that there are risks of contaminations. Impervio provides protection that allows you to do more targeted recalls versus all the cars of a particular model.' Portfolio Of 24M Technologies For Batteries In 2010, 24M Technologies was spun off from MIT by its founder, professor Yet-Min Chang. The lithium-ion flow battery was his original technology. Kyocera has been a strategic investment partner for five years, helping this to develop into a SemiSolid battery cell. Since then, Volkswagen took a 25% stake in 24M Technologies in 2022, leading to the development of more new technologies such as Impervio, addressing areas of energy density, low temperature performance, rapid charging, recyclability and safety. One technology is called ETOP, standing for Electrode to Pack. This bypasses the traditional cell-to-module-to-pack assembly. Instead, the pack is built from the electrodes directly. This provides a significant increase in energy density and goes further than the cell-to-pack systems being developed by Tesla, BYD and CATL. 'We're taking it one step further by making a unit cell, which is basically two or three electrodes, so the anode and the cathode are packaged in a unique way, and then we can build the pack from there,' says Grape. 'We eliminate the module stage.' This increases packaging efficiency from 60% to 70-80%. 'You can either pack more energy into the same volume or make a smaller pack that contains the same driving range.' 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'Traditional recycling takes the old battery and melts it or uses chemicals to create a big 'black mass'', says Ota. 'Then they try to extract expensive metal only. Iron is a cheap material, and they don't want to even extract aluminum.' This is why LFP batteries are less likely to be recycled. Many batteries are too cheap to manufacture for recycling to be cost effective 'They only recycle 10 to 20% at the moment,' says Grape. 'That's why we need to think of avoiding the black mass process.' Batteries must be designed with recycling in mind so their component elements can be separated again. No polymer binder is used with Lithium Forever, enabling over 90% of materials, including active substances from the anode and cathode, to be recovered without the costly and energy-intensive black mass process. This makes LFP economically viable to recycle, too, and the materials recovered pure enough for reuse in new batteries. 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The Verge
an hour ago
- The Verge
Why GM's CEO is still betting on electric vehicles (and racing)
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The Smartest EV Stocks to Buy With $500 Right Now
Nio is still thriving in China's crowded EV market. EVgo continues to expand its charging networks and is locking in more customers. Navitas' more advanced GaN and SiC chips could replace silicon chips in the future. 10 stocks we like better than Nio › Many electric vehicle (EV) stocks soared in 2020 and 2021, but a lot of them fizzled out over the following years as rising interest rates chilled the hot market. Price wars, supply chain disruptions, inflation, higher tariffs, and intensifying trade wars exacerbated that pressure. However, investors who can look past those near-term headwinds might find some promising plays in what has become an out-of-favor sector. I believe these three EV-oriented stocks -- Nio (NYSE: NIO), EVgo (NASDAQ: EVGO), and Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS) -- could turn a modest $500 investment into a few thousand dollars in just a few years. Nio is a major producer of electric sedans and SUVs in China. Its core Nio brand sells higher-end vehicles; its Onvo brand sells cheaper SUVs; and its Firefly brand sells compact EVs. It differentiates itself from its competitors with swappable batteries which can be switched out at its own battery stations as a faster alternative to EV chargers. Nio faces tough competition in China, but it's gradually expanding into Europe. From 2019 to 2024, its deliveries surged nearly 11-fold from 20,565 to 221,970; its vehicle margin improved from negative 9.9% to positive 12.3%; and its revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%. That growth was fueled by its robust sales of its higher-end sedans and SUVs, the expansion of its swapping network and battery-as-a-service (BaaS) subscriptions, and its rising shipments in Europe. Government subsidies in China also helped it survive a severe credit crunch in early 2020. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Nio's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 26%. They also expect its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive in the final year as it sells a higher mix of premium vehicles, expands its battery subscriptions, and streamlines its spending. But with a market cap of $7.8 billion, Nio trades at just 0.6 times this year's sales. Its valuations are being compressed by the trade war and tariffs, but it could soar higher on any hint of a trade deal or milder macro and competitive headwinds. EVgo is a leading builder of EV charging stations in the U.S. with 4,240 charging stalls serving 1.4 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2025. Its drivers can pay for each individual charge or sign up for discounted plans, which start at $6.99 a month. Since the end of 2022, EVgo's number of charging stations increased by more than 50% as its total number of customers grew by over 150%. From 2022 to 2024, its revenue grew at a CAGR of 117%. That expansion was fueled by its acquisition of Recargo, which coincided with its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in 2021; its partnerships with General Motors, Berkshire Hathaway's Pilot Flying J, and Chevron; and federal and state incentives for the construction of more charging stalls. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect EVgo's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 32% as those tailwinds pick up again. They also expect its adjusted EBITDA to turn positive in 2024 and continue climbing through 2027 as economies of scale kick in. With a market cap of $462 million, EVgo trades at just 1.3 times this year's sales. The softness of the U.S. EV market is likely squeezing its valuations, but it could command a much higher valuation once the macroenvironment improves. Navitas is a leading producer of gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) chips. These types of chips can resist higher voltages, switch at higher speeds, and operate at higher temperatures than traditional silicon chips. Its GaN integrated circuits (ICs) are widely used in EV chargers, and it produces SiC devices for EV platforms. It also supplies chips for laptop adapters, data center power supplies, solar inverters, industrial motor drives, and energy storage solutions. From 2020 to 2024, Navitas' revenue grew at a CAGR of 62% as its adjusted gross margin expanded from 33% to 42%. It achieved that growth even as the EV, solar, and industrial markets -- which were expected to generate robust demand for its GaN and SiC chips -- faced tough macroheadwinds over the past few years. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Navitas' revenue to increase at a CAGR of 17% as its adjusted EBITDA turns positive by the final year. That growth should be driven by a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center deal with Nvidia, the mainstream adoption of fast chargers in the consumer electronics market, and the broader usage of SiC chips in EV chargers. With a market cap of $1.2 billion, Navitas might seem a bit pricey at 19 times this year's sales. However, it could be well positioned to profit from the secular expansion of the nascent GaN and SiC markets. So not only is Navitas a near-term play on the EV market's recovery, it's also a long-term play on the disruption of traditional silicon chips. Before you buy stock in Nio, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Nio wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,010,880!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025 Leo Sun has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 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