China develops carbon-14 nuclear battery that could last thousands of years for low-power devices

Chinese researchers at Northwest Normal University in Beijing have built a nuclear battery powered by carbon-14 that can run for decades or longer. The prototype is smaller than a cubic inch, produces 1.13 microwatts, and uses 22% less nuclear fuel than earlier versions. It is designed for low-power applications like medical implants, environmental sensors, and aerospace equipment where replacing batteries is difficult or impossible. This is not a breakthrough that will power homes or electric vehicles. The power output is millions of times less than what a smartphone needs. But for devices that must run maintenance-free for years, it could be a practical solution. The carbon-14 isotope has a half-life of about 5,730 years, though the battery's overall lifespan depends on other components that degrade faster. The technology builds on existing nuclear battery designs used in space probes like Voyager 1 and the Perseverance rover. The key advance here is higher efficiency and lower fuel requirements. If production costs come down and safety concerns are addressed, this could open up new use cases in remote monitoring and medical tech.