Recent progress and perspective on batteries made from nuclear waste

Sustainable energy sources are an immediate need to cope with the imminent issue of climate change the world is facing today. In particular, the long-lasting miniatured power sources that can supply energy continually to power handheld gadgets, sensors, electronic devices, unmanned airborne vehicles in space and extreme mining are some of the examples where this is an acute need. It is known from basic physics that radioactive materials decay over few years and some nuclear materials have their half-life until thousands of years. The past five decades of research have been spent harnessing the decay energy of the radioactive materials to develop batteries that can last until the radioactive reaction continues. Thus, an emergent opportunity of industrial symbiosis to make use of nuclear waste by using radioactive waste as raw material to develop batteries with long shelf life presents a great opportunity for sustainable energy resource development. However, the current canon of research on this topic is scarce. This perspective draws fresh discussions on the topic while highlighting future directions in this wealthy arena of research. Graphical abstract: A long-lasting miniaturised nuclear battery utilising ¹⁴C radioactive isotope as fuel [Figure not available: see fulltext.]