Japan develops uranium-based battery to reuse radioactive waste

10 whole times? Good start, but consumer batteries need to handle 1000-3000 or more discharge/charge cycles to be competitive.

People will want to know how safe they are and what happens if someone buys 10000 batteries? Does gaining access to the Uranium create any risks? I know I'm allowed to purchase unprocessed uranium oar and depleted uranium as an individual - typically around 7 kgs each before permitting is required.

Any amount of U-235 is illegal to own by individuals, so there is some sanity.

Some countries require permits for any amount. Read that I need just permits to have 1000 lbs of uranium before storage in a licensed facility becomes mandated. Not sure this last statement makes sense, but as with most things related to nuclear materials, the fine print is extremely important.

The battery was charged and discharged 10 times, and the performance of the battery was almost unchanged, indicating its relative stability, the institute said.

So performance already changed after 10 cycles,

Surely they tested continuously up to thousands, performance drop steep after 11?

When they iron out the current problems, your riding mower batterries will be muchj smaller, and last forever, though you max out your radiation exposure in 2.7 minutes.

Okay, okay...it IS a cool idea... maybe they could power unmanned spacecraft or something.

Sounds cool, just make sure they're not in cars or transportation, certainly a great way to 're-process' nuclear waste instead of storing it forever.

Looking forward to learning more about this new technology. I'll believe it when I see it.

Heard on NPR yesterday that the Chinese car company BYD claims to have a new technology that can recharge the battery in their EV by 80% in just 5 minutes. Great, if true. I hope it is true, but again, I'll believe it when I see it.

Possible use in Diesel electric submarine batteries allowing extended periods of submergence, without AIP or snorkeling. Use in EV's or military EV's. Perhaps in Electric powered aircraft as well.

Exciting possibilities thanks to Japanese ingenuity.

1.3V lol Or the other joke, with those electrolyte pumps which already eat more than is delivered. A great joke festival, and it is not even ending, everyday new weird proposals and technological 'breakthroughs'. We'll probably soon die from too much laughing instead of climate or energy problems.

However, the battery's installation is expected to be limited to radiation-controlled areas, such as nuclear power plant premises.

Just looking for ways to reduce/use the waste because of the problems with long term storage.

Peter14

Mar. 26 09:42 pm JST

Possible use in Diesel electric submarine batteries allowing extended periods of submergence, without AIP or snorkeling. Use in EV's or military EV's. Perhaps in Electric powered aircraft as well.

> Exciting possibilities thanks to Japanese ingenuity

Use less efficient and radioactive batteries sure

Not all nuclear waste is radioactive for the same periods. Inside the industry, they split the waste into 3 categories.

⋅High Level

⋅Intermediate Level and

⋅Low Level

LL has the most volume. It is tools, clothing, equipment. It needs to be safely stored for less than 1 yr before considered safe for disposal.

IL needs decades to hundreds of years before it is considered safe for disposal.

HL has the least by volume. The standard answer is 50 yrs of cooling, before it is considered safe for handling and disposal.

Those are just for pre-storage (cooling) before the long term storage which will need to be 10,000 to 1 million years before all radioactive materials decay to levels that pose negligible risk to humans and the environment. There's no agreement on how long is safe.

²³⁵Uranium has a half life of over 700 million years, but it is found in nature at low concentrations. The key to safe storage would be to dilute it down to levels seen in nature, which is less than .8%.

Spent fuel is typically 1% of ²³⁵U, 95% ²³⁸Uranium, 0.6% Plutonium with the remaining 3.4% are a mix of dangerous and completely stable elements.

²³⁸Uranium is relatively safe and found in nature at 99.3% concentration for Uranium ore. Human skin blocks the alpha particles it emits. Just don't consume it or inhale it. There are lots of commercial uses for ²³⁸Uranium.

Uranium is found in almost all rocks, soil, and water sources globally.