The UK Space Agency has teamed up with the NNL to develop the world’s first space batteries powered by americium- 241. The isotopes will be extracted from the used radioactive waste stored at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, England.
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Radioisotope Power Systems
Nuclear batteries powered by plutonium-238 have been widely employed for space missions since the early ’60s.
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) and Radioisotope Heater Unit (RHU) systems can provide continuous power and heat for long, deep-orbit missions.
Pu-238
Neptunium-237 is made by irradiating uranium-233, which is extracted from spent nuclear fuels, in nuclear reactors. Uranium-235 is produced only in the US, so an alternative source is urgently needed.
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NNL’s Work
This NNL project – which was commissioned and funded by the United Kingdom’s space agency – will be carried out in a new £19 million (£23 million) lab at NNL’s flagship Central Laboratory on the site in Cumbria. It will use state-of-the-art technology and facilities.
They say it will provide a sovereign source of energy for space batteries in the face of a global shortage, allowing the UK and its partners the ability to explore new space sciences and missions.
Investments and Support
Following its record investment in the European space agency, the UK has announced plans to invest £22m into developing devices using radioisotope energy.
Americium in Space Batteries
NNL says it has been working on developing this technology since 2009 when its scientists first discovered that americium 241, an alternative to plutonium 238, is produced during the radioactivity decay of used fuel from atomic reactors and that it releases energy for more than 400 years
Next year, NNL and the University of Leicester will announce that they’ve successfully created useful energy from americium. The achievement will be seen as a step toward the potential use of americium in space batteries.
With the abundance of Am-241 at the Sellafield nuclear site, the new partnership will turn a proven scientific concept (Am-241) into a fully realized technology.
The Am-241 power source is scheduled to become operational by 2020 and could be used on the ESA’s upcoming Argo lunar lander mission. It may also be used on future missions to deep-sea habitats.
“The ability to provide a globally unique supply of Americium-241 will encourage investors and unlock new opportunities for all kinds of UK industries exploring nuclear energy.”
said UK Science Minister George Freeman
For the last fifty years, NASA has been using plutonium-238 to keep its satellites warm. However, there is not enough of this material available to meet future demands. At NNL, we’ve discovered large amounts of americium-241 which has similar properties to plutonium- 238 but is far easier to obtain.
“This project, which is being supported by the UK Space Agency, aims to use years of expertise in separating and purifying radioactive materials to unlock great public benefits. It goes to the core of our mission to advance nuclear science for the benefit of humanity.”
UK Space Agency CEO Paul Bate added:
“This innovative method to create americium to power space missions will allow us not only to sustain exploration of the Moon and Mars for longer periods of time, but to venture further into space than ever before. Supporting the National Nuclear Laboratory’s expansion will make the UK the only country in the world capable of producing this viable alternative to plutonium, reducing the global space community’s reliance on limited supplies, which are increasingly difficult and costly to obtain.
“The UK Space Agency is committed to keeping space activities sustainable, and this resourceful technology exploits otherwise unused waste plutonium biproducts without generating additional waste.”
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