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Arkenlight

Arkenlight

Arkenlight is a Bristol-based developer of low-power radiovoltaic batteries and telemetry solutions founded by Tom Scott and Neil Fox in August 2020.

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Arkenlight is a Bristol and London-based developer of low-power radiovoltaic batteries and sensor and telemetry solutions. Tom Scott, a material scientist, and Neil Fox, a chemist, both from the University of Bristol, founded Arkenlight in August 2020 to commercialize their radioactive battery technology. They plan to have their first commercial batteries on the market by 2024.

Radioactive Diamond Battery

Arkenlight is developing a nuclear waste=powered batteries using graphite from decommissioned nuclear plants. The graphite is harvested from radioactive carbon-14 which they in turn manufacture man-made diamonds from. As the carbon-14 of the diamond naturally decays, the beta particles knock electrons and generate an electrical current. The possibility of harnessing this power promises a self-powering process that can last between 12 to 5,000 years.

Carbon-14 is a reasonably safe type of nuclear waste, emitting mostly beta particles or high-energy electrons which do not penetrate far into the skin. When turned into a diamond, the carbon-14 can generate and collect charge, reducing the loss factor of beta particles travelling, and the diamond works as a heat sink with a high degree of mechanical safety due to it's rigid structure and hardness.

Prototype of Arkenlight's carbon-14 diamond betavoltaic battery.

Prototype of Arkenlight's carbon-14 diamond betavoltaic battery.

Betavoltaic batteries have been used since the 1970's, where they were used in pacemakers, but were replaced by lithium-ion batteries. Betavoltaic batteries had small power output, which was part of the reason they were replaced. Arkenlight's radioactive diamond batteries are considered a kind of betavoltaic battery, based on similar principles. But Arkenlight says they use of a carbon-14 diamond offers an energy dense battery which they believe they can increase the power output to make it relevant to commercial applications.

Arkenlight expects their batteries to be able to power actuators, sensors, security tags, and similar devices which use micro batteries. They hope to approach the energy density needed to power a phone, laptop, or a car in future.

Dragon Egg

The dragon egg was developed by Tom Scott's team at the University of Bristol. This was a radioactive battery the size of a cube of chocolate. The initial use of the battery was to power a softball-sized sensor capsule to explore an erupting volcano on Stromboli. The dragon egg offered power with no need to recharge and was the prototype for the battery products Arkenlight is developing.

The dragon egg was a prototype developed off of their initial concept announced by the University of Bristol in November 2016. This initial concept included using a betavoltaic cell using carbon-14 harvested from nuclear waste graphite blocks as a power source.

Timeline

September 6, 2020
Morgan Jay Boardman is named Chief Executive Officer of Arkenlight.
August 14, 2020
Arkenlight is incorporated in London as a Private limited company.

Funding Rounds

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Products

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Acquisitions

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SBIR/STTR Awards

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Patents

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Further Resources

Title
Author
Link
Type
Date

Are Radioactive Diamond Batteries a Cure for Nuclear Waste?

Daniel Oberhaus

https://www.wired.com/story/are-radioactive-diamond-batteries-a-cure-for-nuclear-waste/

Web

August 31, 2020

Arkenlight "surprised" by NDB's grand nuclear diamond battery claims

Loz Blain

https://newatlas.com/energy/arkenlight-nuclear-diamond-batteries/

Web

September 30, 2020

The iPhone 16 could be powered by nuclear waste diamond batteries

Alex Lee

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/nuclear-batteries

Web

September 12, 2020

Turn nuclear waste into batteries? Radioactive diamond nuclear battery may be a good choice

https://www.yqqlm.com/2020/09/turn-nuclear-waste-into-batteries-radioactive-diamond-nuclear-battery-may-be-a-good-choice/

Web

September 11, 2020

References

arkenlight.co.uk
Is a
Company
Company
Organization
Organization

Company attributes

Industry
Energy storage
Energy storage
Battery
Battery
Location
Bristol
Bristol
London
London
Colindale
Colindale
B2X
B2B
B2B
CEO
‌
Morgan Jay Boardman
Founder
Tom Scott
Tom Scott
Neil Fox
Neil Fox
Legal Name
Arkenlight LTD
Legal classification
Private limited company
Private limited company
Date Incorporated
August 14, 2020
Spun Out From
University of Bristol
University of Bristol
Number of Employees (Ranges)
11 – 50
Full Address
5 Technology Park, Colindeep Lane, Colindale, London, United Kingdom, NW9 6BX
Place of Incorporation
London
London
Founded Date
August 14, 2020
Competitors
NDB Technology
NDB Technology
Business Model
Commerce
CTO
Tom Scott
Tom Scott

Other attributes

Company Operating Status
Active

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