Scientists Created a Nuclear Battery That Lasts for 28,000 Years Without Charging

What if a battery never needed to be charged? What if it lasted longer than civilization itself? In 2024, Nano Diamond Battery (NDB) and competing teams demonstrated betavoltaic batteries using carbon-14 — a radioactive isotope harvested from spent nuclear waste — that produce electricity through beta decay for tens of thousands of years.

The battery is small: a few millimeters across, producing milliwatts of power. The radioactive material is encased in artificial diamond, which both shields the radiation and converts the beta particles into electric current. Diamond is the hardest material known and effectively traps all radiation inside the cell.

Half-Life: 5,730 Years

Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years, meaning the battery's power output declines slowly enough that even after 28,000 years (5 half-lives), it still produces over 3% of its original power.

Where It Could Be Used

• Pacemakers and medical implants — never need replacement surgery
• Deep space missions where solar power is impractical
• Sensors in remote or hostile environments
• Long-term data archive systems and "doomsday backup" devices

The big limitation: it produces only milliwatts. Don't expect a nuclear-powered phone — but a nuclear-powered hearing aid that lasts a lifetime? Already on the way.