This Battery Looks Good on Paper Because it's Paper

Whoever said that in this electronic age we are becoming a paperless world obviously hasn't been introduced to some of the newest technology in batteries. Several of these highly portable sources of energy are still experimental. They do boast of being environmentally friendly -- and all make use of paper as a key ingredient.

Researchers are developing batteries that are made partially of paper and the results have been showing varying degrees of promise, though none of them appear ready yet for portable ham radio. In France, a company called BeFC is pioneering what it considers to be a single-use, eco-friendly alternative to the small button battery that is fully compostable when the user is done with it. More of a paper-based bioenzymatic fuel cell than an actual battery, it releases energy when moisture is released and comes into contact with the sugar and enzymes that are infused into a layer of paper between the unit's carbon electrodes. Generating only .75 (point seven five) volts, it still has a long way to go before it can power more than perhaps a sensor or medical device someday.

In Singapore, researchers at the startup company, Flint, claim that they have a rechargeable battery in the works that will ultimately replace lithium batteries for use in grid storage and electric-vehicle power. Like the French battery, it too is designed to be compostable and it makes use of the cellulose in paper for the transfer of ions.

Ten years ago, researchers in the US, at Binghamton University in upstate New York, developed what they called "microbial paper-based batteries," that is, they derive their power from bacteria's metabolism. Like its French counterpart, however, the output has been deemed too low for practical use.

So the research continues. To scientists, for now, it all looks good on paper.

South African Radio League Commits to Helping Continent’s Less-Developed Nations

As it prepares to mark its centenary in May, the South African Radio League has decided that it would be an especially wise move to nurture amateur radio's growth throughout sub-Saharan Africa. SARL president Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, told the website TechCentral that amateur radio is almost nonexistent outside of Egypt and Nigeria in the northern part of the continent and Namibia and South Africa in the south.

“You have this middle part of Africa where there is nothing, absolutely nothing”

— Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL

Finding a foothold for amateur radio in less-developed parts of the continent will be an ambitious agenda and SARL acknowledges that this kind of expansion will need political and financial support. SARL's Chris Turner ZS6GM, who has been active in amateur radio instruction and mentoring, has already had success with efforts in Mozambique. In that nation, ham radio operators are seen as an asset, especially when floods or other natural disasters require emergency communications.

SARL has already kicked off its next 100 years with a Centenary Marathon QSO Party that began on the 1st of January and will continue through to the 31st of December. Special event callsigns will include ZS100SARL.

This Safe Nuclear Battery Could Last Decades on A Single Charge

A new miniature nuclear battery could supply electricity for decades, centuries, even millennia.

Researchers are always developing better battery technologies, hoping to find ones that last a long time and never need to be recharged—and this month, we have yet another exciting breakthrough.

South Korean scientists from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology recently presented a prototype battery that works according to the betavoltaic principle. As the researchers explain.

“Nuclear batteries generate power by harnessing high-energy particles emitted by radioactive materials. Not all radioactive elements emit radiation that’s damaging to living organisms, and some radiation can be blocked by certain materials. For example, beta particles (also known as beta rays) can be shielded with a thin sheet of aluminum, making betavoltaics a potentially safe choice for nuclear batteries.”

— Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology

This betavoltaic battery prototype is based on carbon-14, an unstable and radioactive form of carbon called radiocarbon. Although this carbon isotope is radioactive, it only produces beta radiation, which can be easily shielded to prevent harm.

Radiocarbon is already a byproduct of nuclear power plants and is therefore cheap, readily available, and easy to recycle, according to the researchers. And since radiocarbon degrades very slowly, a battery powered by radiocarbon could theoretically provide energy for decades, centuries, or even thousands of years.

According to the researchers, the latest prototype of this radiocarbon battery has a significantly higher energy conversion efficiency, which has increased from 0.48 to 2.86 percent.

This kind of nuclear battery would only be the size of a finger, and such long-lasting nuclear batteries could enable numerous applications, says Professor Su-Il In. For example, a pacemaker powered by such a battery would last a lifetime and make surgical replacement unnecessary.