The nano-diamond battery, the concept for which was first detailed by researchers from the University of Bristol Cabot Institute during their annual lecture held on 25 November 2016 at the Wills Memorial Building, is getting closer to realization.

Now 4 years later a California-based company is developing a functioning example.

“California company NDB says its nano-diamond batteries will absolutely upend the energy equation, acting like tiny nuclear generators. They will blow any energy density comparison out of the water, lasting anywhere from a decade to 28,000 years without ever needing a charge. They will offer higher power density than lithium-ion. They will be nigh-on indestructible and totally safe in an electric car crash. And in some applications, like electric cars, they stand to be considerably cheaper than current lithium-ion packs despite their huge advantages,” New Atlas  noted.

The battery uses a small piece of nuclear waste material - graphite nuclear reactor parts - rich in the carbon-14 radioisotope. 

“NDB takes this graphite, purifies it and uses it to create tiny carbon-14 diamonds. The diamond structure acts as a semiconductor and heat sink, collecting the charge and transporting it out. Completely encasing the radioactive carbon-14 diamond is a layer of cheap, non-radioactive, lab-created carbon-12 diamond, which contains the energetic particles, prevents radiation leaks and acts as a super-hard protective and tamper-proof layer,” the company told New Atlas.

While initially thought to be the answer to many new technology battery requirements, such as Electric Vehicles (EV) and aerospace uses, New Atlas found the battery currently gets its power from the supercapacitor instead of the power generated by the carbon-14 diamond itself.

While the diamond structure can act as a semiconductor and heat sink, NDB’s design will make it “a tiny miniature power generator in the shape of a battery that never needs charging – and that NDB says will be cost-competitive with, and sometimes significantly less expensive than – current lithium batteries. That equation is helped along by the fact that some of the suppliers of the original nuclear waste will pay NDB to take it off their hands”.

Radiation levels from the NDB battery will be less than the radiation levels produced by the human body itself, the company claims, making it totally safe for use in a variety of applications.

Excitement over the potential of these batteries is its ability to eliminate carbon emissions and long-life which would be greatly received by the growing electric vehicle needs. 

“Imagine a world where you wouldn't have to charge your battery at all for the day. Now imagine for the week, for the month… How about for decades? That's what we're able to do with this technology," NDB spokesman Neel Naicker stated.

UNESCO Chair and University College London Professor John Shawe-Taylor sees this potential for environmental impact and much lower energy costs.

NDB hopes to have a low-powered commercial prototype in two years, though the company facilities are closed during the current Covid pandemic.