Radioisotopes Will Be Used to Power Energy Systems

Through a new public-private partnership with Zeno Power Systems (Zeno), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in Oak Ridge (OREM) will be able to reduce the amount of obsolete radioactive material. 

OREM provided Zeno with a radioisotope thermoelectric generator containing strontium-90. It was built in the mid-1980s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, but was never used. Prior to the partnership, the generator was stored at a site in Tennessee. It was expected to be stored for another 30 years before it could be disposed of. However, the transfer of the generator to Zeno will accelerate the demolition of the facility where it was previously stored and avoid the costs associated with disposal.

At the same time, Zeno will extract the radioisotope and use it to power its radioisotope power systems (RPS). 

Radioisotope power systems use the heat from the decay of radioisotopes to generate electricity and can be used to supply clean energy for off-grid applications. The use of Sr-90 in RPS is not a new concept, but previous systems have been heavy, limiting their application. 

Zeno demonstrated its first Sr-90-based heat source at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in October 2023 and intends to commercialize its technology by 2026.

In 2023, Zeno announced that it has government contracts worth more than $40 million to develop innovative RPSs for the US Department of Defense. The company is also developing radioisotope power system technology with NASA and other leading lunar industry companies to ensure long-term applications on the Moon.