Many Ways To Split Atoms
Nuclear power is often associated with massive power plants, giant cooling towers, and the fear of nuclear meltdown. This is progressively changing thanks to the emergence of SMRs (Small Modular reactors) and 4th generation of nuclear power plants (follow the links for detailed investment reports on both).
Both conventional and newer nuclear power plants rely on the same concept of using nuclear energy to warm up water into steam and use the steam to generate electricity via turbines.
Another way to utilize the heat of nuclear reactions is through radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), usually running on plutonium and used for deep space missions.
There are, however, other ways to harness nuclear energy. One of them is betavoltaic batteries, which use beta radiation to directly generate a current through separating electrons from atomic nuclei in a semiconductor absorber.
Now, a new concept on how to generate power from nuclear reactions has been created by researchers at the Ohio State University and the University of Toledo (USA). It transforms the radiation into light, which is then converted into power by a solar cell, a process called radiovoltaics.
They published their results1 in Optical Materials, under the title “Scintillator based nuclear photovoltaic batteries for power generation at microwatts level”.
Harnessing Of Nuclear Energy
When radioactive atoms are split, a few things occur at once. The original atoms split and emit some of their components, in the form of neutrons and/or alpha & beta particles, with the exact reaction depending on which radioactive element is used.
Source: Britannica
This can be used to create a chain reaction in the right conditions, which greatly increases the power output of uranium in nuclear power plants.
Another possibility is for some isotopes of certain elements to break apart spontaneously over time. As the original uranium atoms in nuclear fuel break apart, they transform into new elements, creating a complex mix of new elements, many of which are highly radioactive.
This means that these new elements spontaneously break apart a lot more often and emit a lot of energy per second.
Recycling Nuclear Waste
The new elements created in nuclear reactors are commonly referred to as nuclear waste, as they cannot be used to generate more power simply in traditional reactors. Their higher spontaneous radioactivity is also a problem, as it makes them very toxic for centuries or millennia.
One way to deal with the issue is to vitrify (turn into glass) and bury the nuclear waste, hoping this is enough to keep it from harming anyone in the next 10,000 years.
Another option is to reuse some of these wastes in special reactors called fast reactors, breeder, or burner reactors.
Such reactors operated in France in the 1970s-1990s. Modern versions of fast breeder reactors include, for example, the designed but not built PRISM by GE-Hitachi.
Another option is to use the natural high-energy production of these elements and turn them into power without needing special reactors.
Turning Radiations Into Light & Power
Finding The Right Scintillator
Gamma radiation emitted by highly radioactive elements is difficult to convert directly into electricity because they are so powerful that it tends to damage the semiconductor material that could be used to generate power.
So, while the concept has been tested since the 1950s, yields have been extremely low, ranging from 0.4% to 4.5%, with additional issues of the durability of the system.
Source: Optical Material
What the Ohio researchers changed is to use a scintillator, which emits light when it is exposed to radiation. This required a lot of effort to find the right scintillator material as it required to be in the sweet spot matching all requirements:
- Strong absorber of radiations, both to increase yield and protect the solar cell.
- Remitted light needed to be in the right wavelength matching the solar cell absorption.
- Resistance to damage over time, keeping the light production constant.
- Thick enough to absorb radiations, but thin and transparent enough to not absorb too much of the emitted light.
Their choice ultimately fell on Cerium-doped Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet High Light-Yield (GAGG:Ce-HL – Gd3Al2Ga3O12).
Source: Optical Material
Producing Power From Radiation
The solar cell chosen was a thin-film polycrystalline CdTe, using gold and indium contacts. The main reason for this choice was its high resistance to radiation compared to silicon-based solar cells, up to 3 MGy (Megagrays).
Source: Optical Material
To test the concept, the researchers used irradiation from Cesium 137 and Cobalt 60, produced by benchtop irradiators.
Source: Optical Material
A surprising finding of the experimental test was that the shape and size of the crystal used as a scintillator could strongly impact the efficiency of the process.
Overall, a larger volume is a good thing, helping capture more radiation and convert more energy into light.
Source: Optical Material
The resulting power was up to 1.5 μW under a radiation dose rate of 10 kRad/h (using cobalt), despite the very small size of the prototype, only 4 cubic centimeters in volume.
“These are breakthrough results in terms of power output. This two-step process is still in its preliminary stages, but the next step involves generating greater watts with scale-up constructs.”
Ibrahim Oksuz – research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State.
Applications
Batteries of this type could theoretically keep running forever without any maintenance or intervention. In practice, it would likely last as long as the solar cell, with the rest of the system likely to work for many more decades without requiring any intervention.
Because it is still an experimental system and active isotopes are not produced in massive quantities, this is unlikely to be soon powering our smartphones.
It could however be used to create power sources for sensors and equipment in environments where the minimum of human intervention is preferable, or even impossible. For example, in deep space facilities, under the sea, or in nuclear reactors.
Most likely, it will take at least another 5 years before any real-life usage, and a few more years for more generalized applications of this technology.
“Scaling this technology up would be costly unless these batteries could be reliably manufactured. Further research is needed to assess the batteries’ usefulness and limitations, including how long they might last once safely implemented”
Ibrahim Oksuz – research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State.
It would also radically change how nuclear “wastes” are perceived. From an unfortunate byproduct of nuclear reactors, they could become a very valuable power source for advanced sensors and electronics in critical functions.
And, of course, recycling nuclear waste into power sources would solve the problem of dealing with nuclear waste in the first place.
“The nuclear battery concept is very promising. There’s still lots of room for improvement, but I believe in the future, this approach will carve an important space for itself in both the energy production and sensors industry.”
Ibrahim Oksuz – research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State.
Nuclear Company
Cameco – Westinghouse Electric Company
Cameco Corporation (CCJ +1.92%)
In 2022, Cameco took the decision to acquire 49% control in Westinghouse, the leading builder of nuclear power plants in the US, together with a giant investment firm, Brookfield (51% control).
The company has a massive renewable/low carbon power generation division in the form of $19B Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP +1.88%). Brookfield Corporation as a whole is a massive asset management company with almost a trillion dollars under management.
This means that Westinghouse is now going to be able to access a very deep pool of capital, something that is often an issue for nuclear reactor builders, as new projects require years of investment before bringing in revenues.
While longer to materialize into revenues, once in construction, a new reactor generates revenues for Westinghouse from the 6th year after design and engineering studies and will keep doing so for the entirety of the construction project for a period more than 10 years long.
Source: Cameco
Westinghouse’s work-horse is the tried and tested AP1000 reactor design (6 in operations and 6 in construction), using the company’s CANDU standard, one of the most common in the world.
It is also working on the AP300 small modular reactor, which is likely to be deployed in Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden, and the microreactor e-Vinci, illustrating the company’s continuous innovations and how it is keeping up with the industry’s latest trends.
Source: Westinghouse
Westinghouse is instrumental in a large part of the nuclear supply chain. Due to tight regulations, such parts and equipment will be required for any new power plant, traditional or SMR alike.
Overall, even if the supply issue around uranium gets solved and uranium prices crash, the ownership of Westinghouse should allow Cameco to benefit from the ongoing nuclear renaissance for several decades at least.
The rest of the Cameco company is a uranium miner, likely to also benefit from the ongoing renaissance of nuclear energy. Its main mining assets are in Canada and Kazakhstan.
Historically, uranium and nuclear reactor companies have suffered from the fear of nuclear disaster and concerns regarding nuclear waste. As newer and safer designs mature, and as nuclear wastes become a valuable resource instead of a problem, this should no longer be a problem.
In addition, the push for more low-carbon power sources, while renewables are still to fully solve the problem of intermittent production, especially in winter, should help nuclear energy make a powerful comeback.
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Study Reference:
1. Ibrahim Oksuz, Sabin Neupane, Yanfa Yan, Lei R. Cao. (2025). Optical Material. Volume 25, February 2025, 100401 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590147825000038#abs0010