Description: City Labs’ tritium power source for space applications is a disruptive technology, providing an alternate energy source for challenging applications. Deep space missions often need to place probes in areas where there is insufficient illumination to generate the required electrical output. City Labs’ tritium power source provides continuous power for 20+ years for deep space missions. The proposed Phase IIE effort will demonstrate the performance reliability of the tritium power source within a regulatorily approved package to meet customer mission requirements. The proposed task for the phase II extension include: • Optimize metal hydride • Develop cell stack for City Labs’ regulatorily approved CERDIP 28 package • Reliability/regulatory testing in a relevant operation environment including temperature, vibration, shock, and low pressure (altitude) • Regulatory package modification The tasks in this proposal will increase the efficiency, specific power, and test the performance and regulatory reliability of the tritium power source. As part of the quarterly report deliverables to NASA detailing the progress and testing of the betavoltaic units, one of City Labs’ partner investors in this effort will receive three non-tritium betavoltaic units for independent testing and verification. City Labs will provide a final report of all activities under this effort to NASA.

Benefits: The proposed work will test the performance and reliability of a betavoltaic battery within a regulatorily approved package. This new betavoltaic will have a volumetric energy density >100 times that of lithium batteries (integrated over 20 years of continuous power). This ultra-high, energy density will allow tritium betavoltaics to be introduced to a mainstream market in NASA applications, including high-value deep space missions, CubeSats, independent power sources for spacecraft electronics, and backup communications systems.

Applications include: defense/security applications, anti-tamper, nuclear storage/ device monitoring applications, satellite power supplies, including CubeSats, autonomous wireless sensors, and medical implants. City Labs currently has letters-of-support from Lockheed Martin and Lawrence Livermore for the proposed betavoltaic power source performance/reliability testing and package modification.