NanoTritium batteries
NanoTritium Batteries
NanoTritium batteries are ultra-low-power, long-life power sources made by City Labs, Inc. They are betavoltaic devices that generate electricity from the natural decay of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. As tritium slowly decays into helium-3, electrons are released and captured to create power. These tiny batteries run on nanowatt to microwatt levels and can work for more than 20 years.
Current P100 models produce about 0.8 to 1.1 volts, with a current density around 150 nA per square centimeter. Tritium has a 12.32-year half-life, so the output declines very slowly, giving decades of use. The batteries have been shown to withstand vibration, high altitude, and temperatures from -55°C to +150°C, with no performance loss after many temperature cycles.
Applications include powering low-power electronics in places where regular batteries aren’t practical, such as unattended sensors, satellites, COMSEC devices, and some implantable medical devices. City Labs makes these batteries in Miami, Florida. In 2010, the company received a General License from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to sell tritium-based batteries without special radiation-handling licenses—the only such license in the betavoltaic field. The first commercial tritium battery appeared in 2012.
Safety is a priority: despite containing radioactive material, the design keeps radiation exposure very low, well below regulatory limits. Even in rare failure scenarios, doses stay under the 15 rem whole-body limit. City Labs continues to explore larger, higher-power versions and has pursued NASA-related work, including a 2024 NIAC award for autonomous tritium-powered sensors for lunar exploration.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:36 (CET).