Africa-Press – Zambia. A Chinese company, Betavolt, has begun mass production of the BV100, a coin-sized nuclear battery capable of providing continuous power for up to 50 years, no charging, no maintenance, no moving parts.
This isn’t sci-fi. And it isn’t a reactor.
The BV100 is a betavoltaic battery, using Nickel-63 radioactive decay to generate electricity. As the isotope slowly decays, it releases beta particles that are converted into a steady electrical current via semiconductor layers. When it finishes decaying, it becomes stable copper.
No meltdown.
No heat.
No chain reaction.
👉 Important reality:
This battery produces microwatts, not watts. It will NOT power phones, cars, or laptops… Yet.
So why does this matter?
Because longevity beats power in critical systems.
– Medical implants (pacemakers, internal sensors)
– Spacecraft & satellites
– Arctic, ocean-floor & disaster-zone sensors
– Military & surveillance hardware
– AI + IoT devices that must never go offline
– Infrastructure monitoring where battery replacement is impossible
For these uses, changing batteries is costly, risky, or flat-out impossible. A 50-year power source is a game-changer.
And here’s the part Western coverage is missing 👇
This isn’t about consumer gadgets. It’s about industrial and strategic infrastructure.
China is doing what it increasingly does best:
– Taking niche, high-value tech
– Commercialising it
– Scaling manufacturing
– Locking in long-term capability advantages
Betavoltaic batteries have existed since the Cold War. The difference?
They were never mass-produced for civilian or industrial markets.
China just crossed that line.
This has serious implications for:
– Space systems
– AI hardware resilience
– Defence tech
– Long-term sensor networks
– “Install once, forget forever” infrastructure
The big unanswered questions now:
– Cost at scale
– Export controls & regulation
– Whether this stays industrial… or quietly expands further
Either way, the age of decade-long power has arrived and China got there first.
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